The adventures of Panda man and Fox boy
by Apollo Owens
Summary: There are always secrets between others. always. Finding them is the problem. And now I think we're both in over our heads. GaaraNaruto
1. Before

**Notes: Hey! I'm the author for this fic. I am Apollo Owens if you didn't know and this is my first fic. If you find something amiss please tell me. But leave the spelling alone cause I know I'm horrible at it. Have fun!**

His fingers traced around the bluish purple bruises around his torso. They really didn't hurt much. The blond had gotten used to the pain by now. But he allowed them to hurt him as a dull reminder of what he was.

Naruto was brought out of his reveire by a light series of knocks to the door he was sitting beside. He put on the usual facade of cheerfulness as he opened the door.

Naruto was greeted by the sight of his middle school teacher , Iruka Umino, standing there smiling at him wistfully. To tell the truth Naruto wasn't surprised in the slightest that his old sensei was standing there. "Naruto-kun!" he greeted him.

"Hey Sensei! Come on in. Sorry about the mess. Haven't really had the time to clean all that much." Naruto stepped aside to let Iruka in. All of a sudden he was being pulled into a bone crushing hug.

"Naruto-kun! I'm so glad you decided to move back! How have you been? You've grown! Was it hot there? Your-"

"Senesi!" Naruto interupted in a complaining tone. "I cant say anything or answer your questions if all you do is talk!" Naruto grinned at his old sensei. "Its only been three years since I've been gone. How are this years middle school misfits?"

"Actually I'm a High School teacher now." Narutos jaw dropped in disbelife. After a pause Iruka continued, "I know. Crazy huh?" Naruto stared at Iruka suspicously.

"Why did you really come here Sensei?" Naruto asked him. So suddenly was the playfulness gone out of Narutos whole deminor that it made Iruka unable to answer quickly.

"Um... well... you see..." he trailed off. Iruka sighed. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun. Why did you come back? Why to a place so full of pain and heart ache for you?" The atmosphere in the room became tense and gloomy as Iruka waited for Narutos reply. He wanted and answer yet... he didnt want to hear it.

The blonds impossibly blue eyes glared at the floor as he spoke. "They found out about me, about what I did. So I figured why stay in a place where friends hurt you, and go live in a place where you never had any friends at all." Narutos voice was husky and full of unrelinquished pain.

"Kyu-"

"Dont call me by that name!!" Naruto yelled, teeth bared.

The sudden fircness in Narutos face and voice kept the older man silent.

"Sorry Naruto-kun. I forgot you didnt like to be called by that name. You are Naruto Uzumaki now, forgive me." Iruka apologized while gazing at Naruto sadly. Naruto turned away from those perceptive eyes.

"Dont worry about it..." he mummbled. Iruka placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto-kun. You have bruises. Where did they come from? Who did they come from?" Naruto was glad he was turned away because Iruka would have seen the fear cross his face.

"No where... and no one..." he sighed.

Gaara sat on his barly used bed munching on one of his favorite snacks, cookies. Kankuro, Gaaras brother, had introduced him to cookies and other such sweet candies when he was 10. They all know now that it is a bad idea to give him to much all at one time. That first time tramatized them all. No one wanted to relive that day.

Gaara couldnt say that he was close with his siblings. They really only shared short periods of time together at one time. To them Gaara wasnt, isnt, exactly a pleasant guy to hang around. He couldnt really blame them though. They knew what happened when they were little. They knew how sick and twisted he was. They knew what he did. Everyone knew. But they wouldnt say anything for fear of being harmed (he was vaguly aware that there was someone else who did something horrible about the same time as well, so much for orriginality).

Gaara was sickened by his presence in this world. Why did he have to be born? Was a constant thought in his mind. Gaara did lots of things to kill himself. Hes tried suicide, his family found him before he died. They were watching him now. Hes done drugs, injections, but his family found out about that too and have him checked for narcatics regularly. They allow him to smoke cigarrets and weed and marajuana but that was it. And they allowed drinking but only after dark.

Soon pen and paper were present infront of him and he was writing furiously over the paper. His insperation flew out of no where and hit him like a ton of bricks.

Gaaras main passions are cullenary arts and poetry. Poetry was a way to vent out his emotions, or so his syciatrist says, and he liked it a lot. And cooking was always a sorce of interest for him. When Temari tried to teach him how to make pancakes he found he was quite good at it.

"Gaara?" Tamari called from right outside his door. _'Speak of the devil.'_ he thought. Gaara stood and opened the door slightly. "Gaara. I'm going to my meeting and I'm taking Kankuro with me. Your going to have to leave until we come back. That should be around 10, okay?" she handed him some money. "Go and eat at a restraunt if you get hungry." with that she grabbed him out of his room and shoved him out of the house. "Sorry!" she yelled as she closed the door.

Gaara decided he would let this one slide because he needed the fresh air. Knowing him he would have stayed locked in his room weither he wanted to come out or not.

He heard some girls talking about a hot new waiter at the restraunt down the street. Gaaras being gay wasnt something he needed to hide. He had no one to tell. And he wasnt gay because a girl did something bad, he just thought all wemon were shrewed little bitches. Gaara silently followed the girls to the restraunt. Out side there was a HUGE line.

_'Maybe its just Uchiha Sasuke?'_ he thought rather bitterly.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder just then. Gaara turned slowly to the person who apperantly had a death wish. Generally people knew to stay away or they just didnt know. Gaaras train of thought crashed and burned as he turned to find a blond angel staring at him.

The teen had unruly spiky blond hair that went every which way, with a blue bandana wrapped around his forhead. His skin was a tanish color from being in the sun to long. He had toned muscles, not to much so but you could tell he wasnt weak. He had a tight black shirt that emphasized those muscles nicely. He wore a pair of jeans and sandals. On his face were three whisker like scars on each cheek. His smile was timid as he stared at Gaara with those impossible blue eyes. They drew him in, threaghtening to swallow him whole.

"Are you a costomer?" he asked in his husky voice. This made Gaaras concentration slip. Gaara nodded. Without any warning at all the blond took hold of Gaaras hand and raced off twards the back of the building. There they went through a metal plaited door and into what looked like a kitchen. The blond lead Gaara through a door to the far right and they were now standing in what looked like a locker room.

Letting go of Gaaras hand he pushed him onto the bench nearest the door.

"Please wait there while I go change, sir." The blond angel turned a corner and disapeared. By now Gaara was itching to write. But in her haste Tamari had not allowed him to grab pen and paper. Afew mintues later the blond teen returned wearing a different outfit.

He was wearing a white collered button up with black slacks and dress shoes, and a crimson apron on top of that. His blue bandana was no where to be seen.

"By the way, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Please follow me sir." Naruto made no attempt to figure out Gaaras name, and Gaara didnt mind in the slightest. It turned out that Naruto worked there and was a waiter.'_Was he the one those girls were talking about?'_

Naruto sat Gaara in a corner in the back by himself. It surprised him how Naruto knew exactly where he wanted to sit.

"What would you like to eat or drink, sir?" He asked Gaara with a smile.

"Tea and Ramen." Narutos face lit up like a childs after it hears something it likes.

"Good choice. I promise you you will be thouroghly pleased with your meal." Naruto quickly filled out the order. He saw something in Gaaras face and smiled at him kindly. He pealed off his order and set down the pad and pen. He then bowed politly and walked away.

Gaara snatched them up and began to scribble down what was in his head.

12 minutes later his order was placed infront of him and Naruto was heading off to fill out other orders. Gaara took a sip of tea, broke his chopsticks, and begand to eat his ramen. As Naruto had promised him the ramen was delicious. He wanted to cry out in satisfaction but quickly squashed that feeling under a mental boot and kept a blank face.

Naruto returned right when Gaara was finished, like he knew when he was going to be, eating and drinking his tea.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" Naruto asked. Gaara nodded and Naruto beamed at him with pride. "Good. Ramen is my specialty!" Naruto glanced at the pad. A thick part of it was missing. "Would you like anything else before you go?" He was trying to hold back his laughter as he spoke. Gaara shook his head and handed him the money Tamari gave him, and the stuff Naruto provided. Naruto shook his head and only accepted the money.

Gaara sat there and waited for Naruto to return with his change. He came back soon enough.

"Gaara."

"Hmm?" he looked at Gaara in confusion.

"My name." Naruto smiled in understanding and nodded.

"You can keep that pad and pen. I dont need it, I have others. Hope to see you again soon, Gaara." Naruto waved over his shoulder as he walked away.

_'He's nice...' _Gaara thought as he left the restraunt. It surprised him how he automatically liked this Naruto guy, cause Gaara didnt like people all to much. But Gaara couldnt shake the feeling that most of Narutos smiles were masks to hide something more. Gaara looked at his watch.

_'It was 7:47 when Temari kicked me out.'_ he thought. The time was 8:50, the sun was about to set.

Naruto layed down on his bed fully clothed afer a hard and long days work. He was tired but he wanted to sketch that Gaara boy from earlier. He was worthy of a sketch. There was so much more to him than at first glance. Gaara was like an ice skulpure.

Gaaras eyes were the most beautiful part about him. They were so expresive and full of hidden intellegence. Naruto had an inkling that they were alike in some way.

Naruto grabbed his very abused sketch book from the floor and began the process of making art.

Soon cool eyes were staring back at Naruto through the paper. Full pail lips turned up in the slightest of smiles. His hair blowing in the breeze. Then Naruto colored the portrait sketch in.

After the first was done a second was well on its way. This one was a full body sketch. The beautiful pail red head was facing one side. He was pouting in annoyance. Gaara was wearing a black shirt and black jeans with black tennies. Over that was an unbottoned red coat blowing around him in the breeze. There was snow in the back ground.

Naruto smiled at his creations tiredly. Content he layed back down and sunk into a perfect dreamless sleep.

_**End chapter one**_

**Alright people you need to tell me how this went. I accept reviews from all so okay.**

**I promised myself I would actually finish this writing project if it was the last thing I did! If I dont I swear that I will stab myself 5 times in the leg!! LOL have fun.**


	2. School

**Notes: ****Hey! Thank you to all of you who reviewed and have added me to their favorites list and who are just plain waiting for me to hurry with the next chapter. I was surprised that people read it right when it was barely posted but thats alright! Thanks for reading. I love you all. This chapter will be longer than the last. I promise so yeah, please tell me if I made any spelling mistakes that I missed.**

(Gaaras pov)

I was severely disappointed because I didnt get to see Naruto a second time. He didnt work at the restraunt on Sundays apparently.

I got to school earlier than everyone else ,except Shino Aburame, and sat in my required seat in the back left corner. My head was aching so I laid it against the cool desk top. And this morning wasn't exactly a good one cause I didnt have any inspiration to write. Normally I would be down in the home EC class room with Anko, cooking to my hearts content, but I didnt feel like that either. (Anko isn't even the home EC teacher...)

The chair beside me squeaked as it was pulled back.

"Gaara." Shino greeted.

"Shino." I looked up at him, still with my head down.

"Why are you here so early in the class room?" he asked me in his quiet voice.

"I dont know." I answered him.

"You look tired."

"I am."

"Then why dont you go to sleep?"

"I cant. You know that..." silence followed. Not long after our short conversation Shino stood.

"I do." Shino headed for the door. I could hear Kiba calling for him. When Shino opened the door I spotted him. He was with Hinata.

Shino was really the only one that could get more than a sentence out of me. He wasn't a friend. Just someone to talk to when I needed it.

I stared out the window as people started to file in. This is how the seating went: (below)

me/ no one Kankuro/ Uchiha Shikimaru/ Choji

Shino/ no one Neji/ Lee Tenten/ Ino

Kiba/ Hinata Sakura/ Haku Itachi/ Kisame

Mr. Aburames desk

All in all only two seats were unoccupied.

I watched the students interact with one another as I waited for homeroom to start. Something on the board caught my eye: (below)

**HOME ROOM:**

_**NEW STUDENT**_

Mr. Aburame take very many new students. He thought it was a pain in the ass. I thought this weird but I dismissed it as unimportant. Why would I care about a new student who is probably going to be as stupid and ignorant as most of the people present in the room? Mr. Aburame walked in and called for silence.

"Alright students be quiet!" He waited till everyones attention was on him. "Now I'm sure that all of you have read what is on the board by now, but just in case some of you didnt I will point it out now. I have taken on a new student for my homeroom. Yes it is the end of the world. Yes hell has frozen over. But I still expect all of you to be curtious and nice. Now get your ass in here Naruto Uzumaki!"

My jaw fell open slightly. _'Did I hear wrong?'_ But I did. Naruto came ambling into the class room with his eyes closed and a frown on his face. Today he had on a blue shirt with blue jeans and sneakers. His jacket was a ghastly orange that hurt my eyes.

It didnt look awful on him though. If it were anyone else they would have been dead by now. I dont know why but a little voice was wishing that he would sit next to me.

Mr. Aburame pulled out a name from the jar under the desk. "Shino Aburame is who you will be sitting by for this class till the end of the semester Uzumaki."

"You have your son in your class?!" Naruto yelled out in surprise.

"Yes now go sit." Mr. Aburame pointed at Shino. Naruto came up the steps but stopped half way there. My heart skipped a beat as our eyes met. His eyes were bulging out of his sockets and he pointed an accusing finger at me.

"YOU!" he yelled. He flushed a beautiful shade of red when he realized he said his out burst aloud. Naruto made his way to his seat quickly.

I would have laughed along with everyone else if I wasn't Gaara, and I could sense the discomfort radiate from the blond.

My anger flared right then and I glared into the back of his skull. It seemed childish to get angry over something so small but I was never the less. Naruto was a bit jumpy, so he could probably feel my eyes on him.

_'So he's sensitive, hmm...'_ I thought.

(Narutos pov)

I was throughly embarrassed now. I couldnt believe I had yelled out like that. That look on Gaaras face clearly meant 'talk to me you die'. Now I could feel him glaring at the back of my head maliciously. I could feel his eyes like x-rays, trying to determine what I was thinking.

It was making me very nervous though. Like he was analyzing me for something, and I really dont like that feeling. The angry stare was getting on my nerves to though.

About half way through homeroom the curious glances stopped, though the angry one wouldnt let up, and I was able to relax a little. I was getting agitated. While they were staring at me I wanted to scream at them to stop, and the voice in my head wasn't helping matters in the slightest.

Normally I would just ignore her like any other day but today she was being particularly persistent. Maybe it had to do with the fact that we both used to know most of the people here. She was giving me ways and ideas that I didnt want. I want to be normal like everyone else. So I ignored her the best I could by concentrating on everything Mr. Aburame was saying. Soon the class was over and I slowly gathered my things so I didnt seem to eager to leave.

I took out my schedule to check where my first period was located and was mildly surprised to see that it was in this same classroom. I stayed seated and noted no one had left the class themselves except the teacher.

I had first with a Mr. Kakashi Hatake.

I turned to strike a conversation with Shino but noticed a girl with lilac colored eyes and no pupils with short black hair that went to her shoulders in waves and an over sized coat was staring at me and blushing. I waved and smiled at her.

"Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, whats your name?" I asked her.

"Oh! M-my n-name is H-hinata Hyuga!" she blushed a deep red and bowed.

"Hinata! You dont have to be polite to the new kid!" a guy with scruffy brown hair and red tattoos on his cheeks barked. His skin was really dark and he wore a hoody. "My name is Kiba Inuzuka!" he stated matter-of-factly. He bent over and placed his index finger to his chin. "Uzumaki you look kinda familiar... do I know you from somewhere?" Kiba scrutinized my face and my heart began to pound.

"N-no! I've never met you before." To tell the truth I knew almost every face in the room. I had promised myself I would never forget them, no matter when I saw them and what the circumstances were, and let their memories of me drift away. I did this because I didnt think I would be coming back here any time soon.

I was surprised they hadn't recognized me from middle school. It wasn't all that long ago. My schedule told me we had a little while before class would start. Thats when I noticed a black haired boy sitting by himself in the front, who would most likely be mistaken for a girl, reading.

I stood up and walked over to him. "Hi my name is Naruto Uzumaki, whats yours?" I asked him with a huge grin on my face. He seemed startled at first but smiled in return.

"My name is Haku. Its very nice to meet you Naruto-kun." Haku replied softly.

"You too, but call me Naruto with out the '-kun' please. Its kinda weird to hear it said that way." Haku blushed a little and nodded. Only a second later did he shake his head furiously. "It sounds weird without the '-kun' to you huh?" I inquired and shrugged. "Fine but at least try it without it when you get comfortable okay?" his light blush darkened slightly. I glanced at Gaara and saw him looking at me. I smiled at him and he didnt look away.

"Naruto-kun? Who are you looking at?" Haku asked.

"Just Gaara." I had no problem fessing up. Gaaras gaze was curious, furious, and calculating. I took another glance and this time his eyes were indifferent. How fun. "Lets go talk to him." I stated rather bluntly and grinned my fox grin. Hakus eyes widened slightly.

"He doesn't like people."

"So?"

"He could hurt you."

"So?"

"You could die."

"So?"

He sighed. "Alright but I warned you." Haku stood up and followed behind me at a short distance as I made my way over to Gaaras desk. His glare became intense but it didnt work on me. I felt another pair of eyes on me, but this time at my back. Was it Haku? Who knows?

I stood in front of Gaaras desk and he still glared at me.

"Hey Gaara! Its been a few days!" I chirped.

(Gaaras pov)

I glared at the blond boy grinning at me. The teen behind him, Haku, just stared. I ignored Haku and continued to glare at the blond maliciously if not increasing its intensity. My death glare seemed to have no affect on him, like he had a shield specifically for it. This fact only made me even angrier.

I just wanted to cut that god damned smile off the blonds god damned face. It was irritating. _'Why is he pretending to be so happy? How can he stand to smile when such sadness and loneliness shines from his eyes?'_

I wanted to make him miserable. I grinned inwardly. Haku seemed to notice the gleam in my eyes because he pulled Narutos attention away from me.

"Naruto-kun do you draw?"

"Hmm?" Naruto turned his body so he could see both Haku and myself.

"Your hands."

"What about them?"

"They look like artists hands. The paint on your jeans and the way your precise with everything. Your hand writing for instance. Its not sprawled out like your in a hurry or chicken scratch. Its printed out so you can understand it." Haku held up one of Narutos papers: (below)

Naruto Uzumaki

_**Home work**_

"See what I mean? Its not a perfect example but its close. He gave Naruto his paper back.

This distraction gave me enough time to cool down and get my thought straight. I couldnt let my irritation get the best of me. If I did **HE** would come out. Not only Naruto would be harmed but almost every person in the room. _'But they started it. They made me who I was. I cant trust anyone. Cant love anyone. I can only love myself!_

_But I __**WANT**__ to love someone and be loved in return. I'm tired of being alone. I want someone to know when I'm sad and love me. But I cant because everyone knows what __**HE**__ did in my body. Everyone except Naruto.'_

Naruto didnt know anything. He didnt know about Shukaku, the voice in my head. About the things he had done years ago. He didnt know why people feared me or disliked me.

A flash across my face startled me out of my thoughts. It turned out to be Naruto waving his hand in front of my face.

"Hey Gaara? You okay? Your making these weird faces." Naruto stated rather bluntly. Narutos features were contorted in worry. I hadn't even realized I was doing anything at all. I composed myself and turned away from Naruto and glared at the ceiling. "Guess you dont want to talk about it. Well talk to you later then." he turned so he could sit back in his seat with Haku standing beside him. "Where is that god damned teacher anyways?! Class started 5 minutes ago!" he complained. Kakashi walked in at that moment.

"Sorry class. I got held up in an -ahem- teacher conference." Mr. Hatake blushed from what you could tell from behind his scarf. The girls giggled and it grated on my nerves. "Oh and who are you?" he asked Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" he chirped.

"Yeah, yeah. Simmer down Goldilocks." the class laughed and giggled. "Welcome to the class." he turned to the board. "Now for todays activity."

Mr. Hatake wrote " Pictures and words" on the board.

"Today you guys wont be working with the usual partners." he pulled out the jar. The jar had lots of little papers in it with names written on them. "I will draw out two names and you two will work together. Uzumaki I already have your name in here." He began to write the partners on the board.

**Draw****/Write**** Write/****Draw**

**Kiba /Tenten Sasuke/ Naruto**

**Ino/ Sakura Kankuro /Kisame**

**Haku/ Shino & Gaara Shikimaru/ Hinata**

**Itachi /Lee Neji /Choji**

Mr. Hatake looked at me. "Okay split off."

Haku and Shino didnt voice their objections if they had any at the time.

"Gaara." Shino greeted.

"Shino." Haku raised an eyebrow. I glared. Mr. Hatake called our attention back before we could even start.

"Okay. Kiba you write and your partners Tenten who will draw. And so forth. Now, Uzumaki i heard from your other school that you were a great artist. This project reflects that. I just want to see your skills for myself. Begin." He began to read his orange book.

Shino and I began to write. Shino disliked writing so we used mine anyways. He colored and Haku drew:

_**As seen behind blue eyes of sorrow,**_

_**Till tears be seen on the marrow.**_

_**Angel wings so bright and pure,**_

_**Stiring my soul for it is stricken.**_

_**Blindingly bright and beauty beyond compare,**_

_**Why do your eyes show me so much pain?**_

_**You laugh and smile and say sweet things,**_

_**My little angel where are your wings?**_

_**Have they been clipped by your lord in the sky?**_

_**Is that why such sorrow shows in your eyes?**_

So far today was crappy and as I had said before I had no inspiration so the poem sucked in my opinion. But Hakus drawing was beautiful. He had put two large eyes in the sky with and angel flying in the sky and crying with his feather falling all around him. Seeing that picture with my poem made me feel slightly better. I wanted to see Narutos drawing though.

(Narutos pov)

Sasuke had been really nice to me. He even complimented my Art. I liked his haiku, it was cute:

_Blond haired angel falling down,_

_Red haired demon going for the kill._

_Dancing and swaying to forever._

I head drawn an angel falling from heaven with a red haired green eyed, coal surrounding them, demon dancing gracefully to the angels rescue, but with a knife in his hand.

Sasuke had said the picture depicted almost exactly what he was thinking. I didnt really understand what he was getting at but that was okay. Sasuke didnt recognize me either. That was good because he was on of the main ones that picked on me when I lived here.

Sasuke spotted something on my arm and lifted up my sleeve. "Whats this?" he asked pointing to a dark spot on my shoulder. He had found one of my more recent bruises.

"Nothing." I frowned.

"It wouldnt be there if it wasn't anything. What happened?" he asked me more forcfully. This surprised me because Sasuke didnt care about anyone. An Uchiha never cares about another exept there own. Did he have a girlfriend or a boyfriend?

"Its nothing."

"Dont make me repeat myself."

"Why do you care?" It sounded harsher than it meant to. The question clearly startled him because his eyes widened and he jerked away from me.

"I dont. I'm just curious." he stopped talking after that. We sat in silence but I soon couldnt take just sitting there and doing nothing. I needed to do something, anything, so I got out my over used sketch book. I was using the backs of the already drawn on pages.

Sasuke looked funny so I decided to use him as a model. He had this annoyed hurt look shining from his eyes, with his face blank except his lower lip jutting out slightly in a pout. He was hunched over in his seat in thought. My sketch of him was complete by the time the assignment was over.

Kakashi collected the papers without even looking at them and said we could do whatever till the bell rang. That was only 25 minutes away. I hadnt realized someone was staring over my shoulder until he spoke up.

"Thats a very interesting drawing..." A calm voice said from behind me. I was so startled that I involinteraly thew my sketchbook up into the air. Most of the papers fell out and scattered all across the room. I hadnt even realized I had let out a small screech until _**AFTER**_ I saw people looking at me funny. I felt my face go hot.

My classmates started to pick up the papers and look at them. Some of them voiced their opinions while others just nodded in approval. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Gaara had picked on up as well. I dont know why I noticed this at all or why my already hot face went hotter. I turned away so I wouldnt see his reaction.

Itachi Uchiha was smirking at me as he held some of my papers out to me. His friend was going around and grabbing the papers off the floor and from other people so they wouldnt try and take them. All except Gaaras. People were afraid of him for some reason and I was becoming really irritated because of it.

"Be a dear Kisame and give me those papers?" Itachi said with a hand out to him. Kisame handed him the papers he had gathered and Itachi had promptly dropped them in my chair. Itachi was taller then I remembered as I stared at him.

Itachi reached down so he could ruffle my hair and smiled. "I'll be watching you..." he then backed away slow enough to make it look like he was slythering. To say the least, it was... creepy...

The bell rang just then. I hurridly gathered my things into my back pack and ran out the door. I checked my schedual as I ran and it read that I had a Mr. Gai for PE. I grinned and continued in the direction I thought was the right way, though I soon realized someone was running beside me.

"Hi my name is Lee! Are you heading to the gym? Yosh!" he asked me grinning. I nodded. "Follow me then my youthful friend!" The bushy browed teen sped up and was soon a green blurr down the hall.

(Gaaras pov)

When the bell rang I marveled at Narutos speed. He had gathered his stuff and was out the door withing 30 seconds. Lee thought it was a challenge and gave his boyfriend (Neji) a quick kiss before he sped after him. Neji collected his things, which Lee forgot to do in his haste, and left without a single word.

I glanced back at the paper I held in my right hand. It was one of Narutos sketches that had flown around the room. This was the only one that hadnt been picked up and handed back to the blond.

The sketch was of me staring back through the paper. The only problem I had with it was the fact that I was smiling. I didnt smile. I didnt know how to. I checked the date and it said 'December 2, 2007' about two days ago, the day that we met.

I wanted to ask Naruto how long he had been here before he came to the school. Apparently long enough to get himself a job.

"Hes cute!" I heard Itachi say calmly. I turned toward him in time to see Kisame roll his eyes. "I think he will be loads of fun." Itachi added as he walked out of the classroom with Kisame at his side.

My next class was with Anko in Calculus. Math. Great. More jibber jabber.

**End Chapter 2**

**Alright! Awsome I'm done with the second chapter. I'm so proud of myself. Thank you again to all those that reviewed. I take all kinds of reviews so tell me what you think. I take all kinds. So REVIEW!! Thank you!**


	3. Over

**Notes: ****Yellow everyone! Sorry its taken me a week or two to right this chapter. I have an essay due at school in little more than a week! Thank you to all my loyal readers who have reviewed and or read my chapters! Much love and hugs to you all! Now lets begin shall we?**

(Narutos pov)

the first half of the day was finally over! I liked my second period class cause it was gym, the teacher is really eccentric with his attitude. My third period class was a little boring. My teacher for that class did nothing but talk the entire time! And fourth period was just a little creepy. Mr. Orochimaru made me work with him the **ENTIRE** class hour. It wasn't cool. The creepy part was the fact that when I started making mistakes he was right behind me holding my arms and standing really close to where his front pressed to my back, which was kinda gross cause he was quit a bit taller than me.

I **ALMOST **couldnt eat lunch. I wasn't until I heard they were making Ramen for lunch! So I ran all the way to the cafeteria and proceeded to order 4 bowls of the steamy broth and noodles! I **LOVE** Ramen. It is the ultimate food of the gods!

I took my food outside and started eating it under a tree (it has a small bit of meaning in future chapters). The day was beautiful and bright with a cool breeze. It was the type of day you could just lay down and take a nap in.

Choji and Shikimaru came over and laid out a blanket to lay on. Lee had told me in gym that the two were going out and that he was dating the ice prince Neji Hyuga. I didnt really care. I was still marveling at the fact that no one recognized me at all. The idiot Kiba was the only one that came even remotely close to figuring it out. Gaara, Kankuro, and Kisame were all new faces so they really didnt count cause they wouldnt recognize anyways.

I ate my Ramen slowly, savoring the taste. I noticed someone sit beside me not to far off. It was Gaara. "Hey there Gaara!" I greeted and he nodded to me. It didnt seem like he was angry at me anymore.

"Here," he produced a piece of paper and handed it to me. It was my sketch of him. I blushed furiously and hoped he didnt think I was to weird to hang out with and that I was stalking him.

"Dont get the wrong idea! You were- well... um..."

"Dont worry about it." Gaara took out a cigarette and a lighter. He lit it.

"Those will kill you by the way."

"I know." Gaara stared off into space so I began to eat my Ramen again.

"Your not angry with me anymore?" Gaara shook his head, still staring at the sky and clouds. "why were you mad to begin with?" It was silent for awhile.

"You weren't there," he finally said, extinguishing the cigarette on the sold of his boot and putting the bud in a plastic bag that was hidden in the inside pocket of his black jacket.

"Weren't where?" I asked him in confusion.

"The restaurant. You're the only one that know where to sit me." I just noticed that his voice was gravely and quiet, like he didnt use it all that much and it was strained from talking. Realization dawned on me just then.

"Oh! I dont work on Sundays. Mondays – Saturdays and thats it. I work in the afternoons now since school starts for me. I work every holiday except Christmas, Halloween, New Years, my birthday, and Valentines day!" I grinned at him as I threw my trash away in a near by trash can.

I laid down on the soft grass and basked in the sunlight. It felt good. Not even five minutes later Haku comes and sits down next to me, on the other side, and sighs in pleasure as the light bounced off his skin and warmed him. By the time lunch was half way over Lee, Neji, Ino, Sakura, Sasuke, Kankuro, Shino, Hinata, Kiba, Itachi, Kisame, and Tenten had found their way over to where we sat.

Itachi had made a rather annoying nickname for me. It was 'Naru-chan' eww!!

"Naru-chan!" Itachi nudged me, trying to get my attention.

"Stop calling me that!!" I yelled at him.

"Aww but Naru-chan sounds so cute..." Itachi said and patted my head. "I have to go now Naru-chan. See you later!" Then Itachi was dragged away by blonde guy named 'Deidara'. When the blonde first showed up he started calling Kisame 'Fishcake- sama'. We all laughed.

Gaara tapped me on the shoulder when Itachi left and put out his hand as if asking for something.

"Schedule." he said and I gave mine to him. Gaara pulled out his own and compared the two.

**Mine****His**

**7:40 am Homeroom / Aburame Homeroom / Aburame**

**8:00 am Creative writing / Kakashi Creative writing / Kakashi**

**9:00 am PE Gai Geometry / Anko**

**10:00 am Geometry / Anko Chemistry / Orochimaru**

**11:00 am Chemistry / Orochimaru History / Iruka**

**12:00 pm Lunch Lunch**

**1:00 pm History / Iruka PE / Gai**

**2:00 pm Theature / Kakashi Theature / Kakashi**

**3:00 pm Art / Kureni Home EC/ Obito**

Throughout the entire day we only had a few classes together. I found myself a little disappointed which surprised my because we had only just met. It was almost the same with everyone.

Soon there was a punkish looking guy with spiky brown hair, he looked to old to be a student. He didnt look particularly happy or angry but his face softened once Haku met him not far off.

"Haku." he said in a deep gravely voice.

"Zabuza- sensei." Haku bowed.

'Holy crap! That guys a teacher?!' I screamed in my head.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?!" he growled. " it makes me feel old." he added.

"Sorry Zabuza- sensei." Zabuza sighed and produced a box.

"You forgot your uniform." Haku bowed and took the box.

"Arigatou Zabuza- sensei!" Zabuza smiled and patted Haku on the head.

"I'll see you in class. You to Sasuke!" he yelled and left. Sasuke nodded before Zabuza could turn around all the way.

Ino and Sakura were fawning all over Sasuke. It kind of peeved me cause I thought they would have out grown him by the time they got into high school. It was alright though, what could I do about it?

Without even realizing it I had fallen asleep. Someone was shaking me but I was to comfortable where I was to move. It was warm where I was.

I cracked my eyes open a little to see who was shaking me. It was Sasuke and he seemed a little startled and I had to ask why.

"Whats wrong?" I croaked. He shook his head and thats when I noticed how quiet it was. "Whys it so quiet?" I asked stupidly.

"The bell rang a little while ago and everyone else is already headed to class. You, Gaara, and myself are the only ones out here." he answered me. I could have sworn his face was a little pink but I dismissed it as a trick of the light. Uchihas dont blush is what Sasuke had told me one time when we were little. But things have changed since I've been gone.

"Why hasn't Gaara left?" I tried to get up but found that task to be quit difficult. Apparently I was laying on something big and my arms were trapped under it. I looked at it and saw black. A black shirt to be precise. I was laying on and hugging a person. And that person just so happened to be Gaara himself. Now I knew why he was still here.

He was asleep as well with his arms over my shoulders. It surprised me that I didnt notice before. You would think with someone wrapping their arms around your neck and blocking your view you would realize they were there. I slowly started to slide my arms from under him and got up on my knees at the same time, straddling him. I made a move to to remove his arms from around me but they constricted, causing my face to go into his chest, and he shifted to his side affectively tangling our legs together and further pining my arm under him. I was blushing furiously. For someone so skinny he sure had a strong grip.

"Sasuke, a little help please."

"Nope." there was a flash and I soon realized he was taking pictures. "Who would have guessed that Gaara was such a huggable, lovable, cuddle bug when sleeping?" Sasuke chuckled and I couldnt help but be wrapped up in memory.

"Help me get out of this Sasuke- teme!" I yelled out the old nickname causing Gaara to shift again and press me into the ground under him. At least one of my arms were free. I could smell Gaaras breath as it brushed against my lips. He smelled like the beach. The scent made me dizzy and I wanted to relax and just sit there. But I couldnt cause Sasuke was there taking pictures. I started to use my free hand to shove against Gaaras chest.

"Gaara wake up!" I half yelled. "You need to get up! Everyones gone and your squishing me!" I pushed harder against his chest.

"... Dont wanna..." he mumbled and rolled completely on top of me. This action alone made my face burn hot in a flash. I liked this position but I couldnt stay that way. I heard more flashes. My face was in the crook of Gaaras neck, he smelled just as good as his breath even after hes had a cigarette.

"Gaara!" I shoved and arched my back to try and get his attention and wake him up.

"...No..." he continued to mumble. "..'m comfy..."

"Gaara! Get offa me!" his eyes burst open as I screamed in his ear and he looked at me. His eyes were wide and I could swear that his cheeks turned a light shade of red. Then his eyes narrowed, as if accusing me of something, and he got off. "Why were you laying on me?" I asked him as I sat up as well, still red faced.

He didnt answer at first but he then mumbled, "...You started it..."

"Hm?"

"You laid on me first." I looked at him, bewildered.

"When you fell asleep next to Gaara you rolled over and wrapped your arms around his torso and refused to let go. You didnt even let go as we tried to get you off. Gaara told us he didnt really mind so we let it be., which was kind of strange. Then he fell asleep not long after." Sasuke decided to speak up then.

I already knew I was a cuddler when I slept so it didnt really surprised me that I was hugging someone, thats why I hardly let anyone sleep over at my apartment not that they would but yeah, but the fact that someone didnt mind was a little embarrassing.

"You have Mr. Umino for your next class. You should go before he starts looking for you." Gaara told me while he got off the ground. I nodded and stood up as well. For some unexplained reason my heart was racing like I'd been running for an extended period of time. "Bye." Gaara left and I followed his every movement with a blank expression on my face.

"Are you two secretly going out?" Sasuke suddenly asked. I shook my head and he shrugged. "Could have fooled me. It seems like you two know each other." he walked off with his camera in hand.

"Wait a minute! Give me that camera!!" I ran after him trying to grab the camera from him. While this was going on I couldnt help but feel as though I were being watched. I really didnt want to be left alone. Yes I was a coward at heart.

A little while later I was at Mr. Irukas door.

"Hey Iruka- sensei!"

(Gaaras pov)

I hadn't even realized I was hugging back. I found it strange that Naruto was getting past my well built defenses without even trying or realizing it. And I was letting it happen. It was unsettling. I hardly toss and turn in my sleep yet I found myself on top of Naruto when I was under him in the beginning.

Mr. Gai greeted us all with a loud hello and told us to go ahead and get dressed out.

Today we were playing soccer. I also found it odd that I liked this class. It wasn't because of the interaction. I hated people of any kind in large groups. It was the sense of belonging somewhere. The gym was a cozy place because it was large and warm, due to the always open windows. The teacher made everyone feel welcome weather they were a homicidal maniac or a regular person.

Mr. Gai was one of the few people I let actually taste the food I made. He always liked my little experiments and helped critique my work. He wasn't a friend, just someone I talked with and hanged out with from time to time. But only in small doses. His energy and happy waves were off the charts. Which was another thing that was strange because Naruto had just about as much energy rays as the sun is hot. I already found myself looking forward to our next class together.

I took a shower and dressed back into my regular clothes (black pants, red shirt, black jacket if I haven't specified already) for it was already the end of class. I had this period with Naruto and was secretly apprehensive. It was theater. I entered the class room a few minutes later and was immediately jumped upon.

"Gaara!" I heard a familiar voice greet. I saw a mop of blonde hair and blue eyes shining at me. It was Naruto of course. I looked at him. "What? We've already hugged so I dont see the problem." he whined at me and let go. I nodded as if telling him it was okay. He grinned. "Alright! Databoyo!" he made a pose that looked close to Gai and Lees nice guy pose.

I almost laughed. Almost.

Everyone from first period was there as expected. Mr. Hatake had 3 classrooms. He taught creative writing 1st-4th, Theature 5th- 7th and 8th was his club and that was of course Theature. His third class was homeroom.

Mr. Hatake used to be a big time actor, but he quit so he could find a talented other to make them into their own stars. As far as I know he hasn't found anyone talented enough yet.

In this class there were no assigned seats so you could sit where ever you wanted. This was cause Mr. Hatake thought it would be interesting to watch everyone interact. That was of course if he wasn't reading his perverted Icha Icha Paradise books.

I sat down next to Naruto, because he asked me to, with Sasuke on his other side. I sat in the corner of the left hand side of the room, exactly where I wanted to be. Naruto was weird like that. He had this perceptive part of him that seemed to work constantly with or without him noticing it. This made me come to like and appreciate Naruto even more.

Mr. Hatake came in late as per usual.

"Alright class we are going to do a set of small skits cause I said so. The first one only requires two people, so..." he took out two names from the jar he produced, " Naruto and Itachi get your asses up here." I watched as Mr. Hatake handed them a slip of paper. They both read it and gave it back.

"It dosnt have to be exactly like the paper okay?" he told them and moved off the small makeshift stage. "Okay get into places. And begin."

Immediately Narutos face was laced in a detached sadness.

"'Maya you cant keep seeing him like this. You know boys his age only think about one thing!'" Itachi said in an over protective fatherly voice.

"'I know, but Drake isnt like other boys!'" Naruto choked. His hand was clutching the place above his heart and he was gazing at his feet.

"'How do you know that? Why dont you ever listen to me? Why cant you be more like your sister?'" Itachi sighed and placed a finger to his temple. Anger flared in Narutos eyes.

"'Because I dont want to be like her! Its always this way with you!'" Naruto took a step closer to him. "'_Why cant you be like Saiya? Saiya is soo much better than you and well behaved, I wish Saiya was the heir to the company instead of you!'_" Naruto mocked in Itachis voice. "'I dont want to be anyone other than me! I am my own person! I am me! Not Saiya!" He screamed at Itachi as tears streamed down his face. The scene looked so real and life like and heart breaking you could have easily mistaken this for an actual argument.

Naruto then turned and stalked off the stage. He was crying and shaking the entire time until he was off the stage itself. Clapping ensued and Mr. Hatake was doing and eye smile. It seemed he thought he had found his star.

"That was wonderful acting Naruto!" Mr. Hatake said happily. Naruto blushed.

"No it wasn't..." he said and scratched the back of his head.

"Of course it was! I want you to join the Theature club!"

"I cant. I'm in the Art club." he replied at once. There was a stern look of his face and a glint in his eyes that dared him to say anything more. Mr. Hatake looked unfazed.

"Hmm... well thats a shame. Oh well." Mr. Hatake shrugged. Naruto sat beside me again and didnt say anything. I looked at him and noticed that Sasuke was glaring at Itachi. I couldnt imagine why.

Mr. Hatake then called me, Kankuro, Sasuke, and Hinata up to the stage. He told me I was supposed to be the panda. I heard Naruto laugh good naturedly when I put the panda ears on.

When I sat back down he said, "Hey Panda man, welcome back!" he giggled and clapped me on the back.

"Quiet Fox boy." I glared at him but it wasn't a death glare. He realized I was just adding to his little joke and he stood up.

"I, Fox boy, am the trusty side kick to Panda man!" He yelled out. People giggled. The title irritated me but I could deal with it as long as Naruto was the one calling me by that name.

Class went by quickly because I watched Naruto interact with the other people in the class. He was so interesting. He had so many different facial expressions and when he talked his hands would become animated. He was simply enchanting.

"You act differently around Naruto." someone said. I turned to find that the speaker was Kankuro. I glared at him. "You do. At lunch you talked more to him than you ever did with anyone else. And I saw you smile, even if it was only a little bit." He shrugged and made his way back to his desk.

I continued to sit in silence until the bell rang. Since we were already in the Arts hallway Naruto and I only had a little ways to go.

Itachi, Kisame, Haku, Neji, Tenten, and Sasuke all made their way to the gym. Lee, Ino, Sakura, and Kiba all made their way to the track. Shino, Hinata, and Kankuro stayed behind cause they were in Theature. Choji, Shikimaru, and I were heading down to the home EC, which was across the hall from the Art room which was where Naruto was headed.

Mr. Obito had heard about Naruto from Mr. Hatake apparently because he told me to make a batch of cookies for him and send them to Naruto personally. I nodded and started immediately. I made a dozen little fox shaped cookies and put them in a bag. It only took me 45 minutes to make.

When I knocked on the door, Ms. Kureni let me in. Naruto wasn't far from the door, working on a 4ft by 5ft piece of canvas. He was painting in a sketch of a panda eating a bamboo. He noticed me and smiled.

"Hey Panda man." He grinned.

"Hey Fox boy." Thats when I noticed the little bundle of a fox curled up in the pandas lap. It looked cute and reminded me of earlier that evening at lunch.

"So why did you come in here? Surly not to spy on me in class." he grinned even wider, if possible.

"No, I didnt." I handed the bag of cookies to Naruto. "A 'Welcome to the school' by Mr. Obito." I said and left.

"Thanks!" He yelled after me. After class ended Naruto came running into the classroom even before I could gather my things. "Gaara!" He smiled and hugged me. "Those cookies were so amazing! They tasted awesome! I'm serious!" He began to grin at me again.

"Thank you." I said and felt my face temperature turn up a few degrees.

"Your blushing!" He teased and poked my face while smiling. "Do you like me complimenting you Gaara?"

"Why do you say my name all the time?" I suddenly asked. Now his face went red.

"I dont really like telling people this. Its really embarrassing. But... okay... if I say a persons name enough times I'm pretty sure I will remember who you are. And I **want** to remember you." I stared at him for a moment. What he said wasn't funny at all yet I suddenly couldnt hold back the urge to laugh. And I started to blush as well which didnt help the situation at all.

I could feel eyes on me but I didnt care.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled and turned beat red. "I knew I shouldn't have told you!" He stormed out of the room. I automatically sombered up and ran after the blond.

"Wait!" I called out to him. I was so out of character since I've met Naruto.

"What?!" He fumed.

"Stop!" I ordered. He stopped and turned around with a frown on his face. "Sorry. I dont know why I was laughing, I just was." Naruto smiled at me.

"Its okay. I dont really mind as long as you dont tell anyone. Your probably not used to laughing anyways, it sounded like you were coughing, and its good to have a laugh every once and awhile." We walked side by side and he placed his hands in his pockets and stared at the ceiling.

"Yeah." I sighed. "Its kind of surprising that you told me something personal."

"You not used to having friends either huh?"

"Yeah." I sighed again.

"Oh yeah! I work today so if you want to come by today go ahead. And your a good cook so why dont you get you a job there as well? I could put in a good word for you!" He grinned at me.

"Alright. But I want the same hours as you."

"Sure, the old man will practically do anything for me!" we walked a little ways without talking. "Well, I dont have to work for another hour so why dont we go and grab a bite before then?" he asked me.

"Sure." I replied right when we walked out the front gates to the school.

(Narutos pov)

I sat across from Gaara in a cafe a few blocks away from my job. He was drinking coffee and eating a muffin. I was drinking tea with pie and chocolate ice cream.

"You know coffee stunts your growth?"

"Only if you drink to much." he stated matter-of-factly. "Your still hungry?"

"I normally require a lot of food to function. Its cause my metabolism is really fast. Its when I'm not eating that you should worry." I said around bites of pie.

"I'm surprised your not fat." I just smiled at him and the corners of his lips turned up slightly in response.

It was strange to be friends with someone like Gaara. He wasn't really a bad guy it was just that I didnt know him. He was a new face. At my other school I hadn't made a friend for at least two weeks. And the only person that really took care of me was Jiriya- san. And here I was, at a new school with a brand new friend not even 4 days after I met him.

And what made it even weirder was because he was so quiet. You had to strike up a conversation with him most of the time or he wouldnt say anything. But the quiet wasn't bad either. It was a comfortable silence.

When we were done I had 20 minutes until I was late. We walked and went in the way we did the first day we met. The line of girls were in the front again, blocking the front entrance. As soon as I walked in through the back Ayame walked over.

"Either you catch him by coincidence almost every day or your doing this on purpose." she smiled, showing that she really didnt mind all that much.

"Dont worry, hes a friend. Hes also looking for employment at our beautiful establishment. Do you think 'dad' is ready for another one?" I chuckled.

"Take him to the office. We're a bit short handed so you might be starting today!" she bustled off again.

"Okay. This way!" I pulled Gaara through the opposite doorway of the locker room. "Hey boss!" he looked up from a stack of papers.

"Hello Naruto-kun. Who is this? A complaining customer?" I grinned my fox grin.

"No. he wants to sign up for a job position. He wants the same hours as me, I dont have a problem sharing the glory and hes a friend. And he is such an awesome cook!" Gaara turned a little red at my compliments.

"I hope he dosnt mind starting today." Gaara shook his head. "Good, sign the paper work here," he set down a small stack of paper, "and Naruto-kun find him a spare uniform until we can get him some of his own." I nodded and left the office. It took me ten minutes to find one that looked like it fit him. He was taller than me by a few inches but had a smaller build, even though he didnt feel like it.

I went to the boss's office once again just as Gaara was walking out. He smiled at me, a really small smile but a smile none the less.

"Hey."

"Yo. Here, I um... found them for you. They might be a little big or small. Welcome to the world of jobs and food! C'mon and lets go change!" We walked into the locker room and I took him to an available locker, in the corner of course, and gave him the lock and combination.

"He trusts you with distributing them?" Gaara asked. I tapped my head.

"No memory copasity for numbers." I shrugged and indicated my locker wasn't very far away.

I went over to my locker and unlocked it and grabbed my stuff and started to undress. I glanced at Gaara and saw an intriguing mark on his back. I walked behind him silently and saw that the mark was a bunch of scars scattered about in a somewhat pattern all over his back. I crouched on the bench and tapped my chin with my index finger.

"Ya know I wouldnt mind sketching your body." He whipped around real fast like he hadn't sensed me there at all. His face was beat red. "And I'm very partial to that particular shade of red on your face." I grinned a lecherous grin.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked. He was frozen in place. His shirt wasn't even buttoned. There were more scars in the front. I would ask where they came from eventually.

"What look?" I continued to grin my grin.

"Like I'm a slab of meat. I'm not."

"I know."

"Then stop." His face was still red.

"I cant. Your body needs to be inspected. Company procedure." I stood up and got off the bench.

"Get back" he warned me. I took a step closer. "I'm warning you." he narrowed his eyes but his blush darkened as I got closer. When I was at arms length away his arm snaked out like a cobra launching at its prey and struck me across the face. My face whipped to the side and my right cheek was throbbing. I could taste blood so he had slapped me pretty hard.

I burst out laughing. I couldnt believe it. I laughed hard and I couldnt stop myself. As I laughed I touched my cheek. His facial expression grew increasingly annoyed. He pulled on the rest of his clothes and walked out quickly. I didnt even bother getting out until I had stopped laughing. When I did Ayame approached me and asked:

"What happened? Gaara's mumbling to himself and being pissy and your sporting a hand print."

"Gaara slapped me." I grinned proudly as I placed my hands on my hips.

"Why are you so proud of that?" she asked me incredulously.

"Well, I was messing with him and he slapped me in retaliation. But dont blame me, I couldnt help it. He provoked me." I giggled.

"Your acting like his boyfriend!" I sombered up pretty quickly. I looked at her seriously in the eyes and they showed a little sadness. I walked away without saying anything. I knew how Ayame felt about me but I didnt feel the same. I was bisexual but going out with her wouldnt feel right.

I was fond of her and her dad cause they were the only ones who cared about me and treated me like family in my times of need. They had never uttered a cruel thing to me. Ever.

Gaara was working in the kitchen when I started my shift. He glared at me when he saw me walk past. I kept my face blank because I was thinking about other things.

_**/Hey kid./**_ her voice rang out in my head. I didnt react but thought my reply.

_'What?'_

_**/Whats the matter with you?! Dont get to close to this guy or you know what will happen./**_

_'I know. They all do when they figure it out.'_

_**/Alright. I'm just making sure. When am I going to be able to come out?/**_

_'After work. I'll go straight home so you can stretch your legs. No hurting anyone please.'_

_**/I learned from the last time you know. That time was enough to last me a life time. But if anyone threatens you know me. I protect the things I care about./**_

_'I know.'_

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned and saw that it was only Gaara.

"Whats wrong?" He asked me with a worried expression on his face. He was done being mad and glaring at me.

"Nothing. I'm just tired." I looked at my watch. It was 6:30. only two more hours until my shift was done. Gaara stared at me with his cool aqua eyes a minute longer then nodded. He walked back into the kitchen and I continued my waiter duties. The girls squealed as I flirted, so did some of the guys. Even though I was a guy, I told some of the straight guys I was really a girl, I got some people really confused.

As soon as my shift was over I was out of there. I yelled a quick good bye to Gaara in passing. He seemed confused but didnt say anything back.

As I arrived at my apartment I went straight to her room and changed into some clothes Kyuubi would like to wear.

It was a blue dress that flowed to my knees. The sleeves went past my fingers. I laid on the bed and waited for the sweet abyss of a dreamless night.

_**/Night kid./**_ she said before she took over.

"Night Kyuubi." I mumbled and slipped away.

(Gaaras pov)

After Naruto left I went for a walk, it was weird not having him around since I've been atleast in the same building as him all day. I've only known him for a day or so and I was already so used to him. His so many different facial expressions. His foxish grin, and his sunny disposition that was so infectious.

I walked along a dock next to the beach. What made me stop was a figure not to far away. She had long reddish blond curly hair that flowed all around her in the wind. She had a blue dress that billowed and twisted in the breeze. She had delicate looking arms that propped her up on the railing. She was facing away from me but could apparently sense my presence.

"Hello Gaara." and it seemed she knew me as well. She turned and there was a small smile on her lips and her eyes were a shade of red. She was a strange girl. Shukaku growled in my head.

_**//Be careful boy. Shes not your average defenseless little girl...//**_ he warned.

"Your probably wondering how I know you." her smile widened and her teeth seemed to gleam in the dim light. "There are two ways that I know you. Which would you like to hear first?" she asked me with a giggle. For a girl she had a deep voice.

"I dont care." I told her.

"Okay. My name is Kyuubi." she grinned. Her grin and her name both rang bells in my head but I couldnt place where they came from. "The first way I know you is from a long time ago. You had made a bit of trouble when you where younger. Your probably wondering where you've heard my name right? Well I'll tell you. I was in the news when you were seven. I did some bad things, well they were justified in my eyes. I basically killed a few, a lot, of people, like my family for instance!" she babbled with a giggle as she started to circle me.

"You killed your family?" I asked her.

"Oh yes. And a few others." she licked her fingers. "And it was fun. To tell the truth I never figured I would actually meet you." she laughed, changing the subject.

"And the second reason?" I was becoming impatient. I checked my watch and it read 10:20 pm.

"Hmm... Uzumaki Kyuubi."

"What?" My eyes widened.

"I'm related to Naruto Uzumaki. I'm what you would call his... sister." her eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Your related?" I took a step back.

"Of course. Cant you see the family resemblance?" she giggled again. As she continued to circle me the dim light played against her skin, making her look menacing. The first time I had ever felt the prickle of fear play up my spine. "But right now your the only **CHILD** that knows I'm here at all." she stopped circling and stepped closer. "You dont tell Naruto that we met and I wont mention what we talked about. And I will permit you to... play with him." she paused. "For now. Well I am going to go now. Naruto will be waking up any minute now. He will be worried if I'm out when he wakes up." she smiled at me and began to walk away.

"Wait. Can I ask you something?" I spoke up before I could stop myself.

She turned. "What?"

"Who's older? Do you go to school?"

"Me? He's older and I have enough knowledge to last me 4 life times." she sighed and walked off the dock and into the darkness. This vaugly made me wonder where Naruto lived, but I did not venture to follow the frighteningly devious figure that is Kyuubi Uzumaki.

_**//It would be best not to get on her bad side.//**_

_'Yeah. I wonder how you would have handled that situation.'_

_**//A little differently than you have.//**_ I nodded.

What had just happened not to long ago told me loud and clear just how much I knew about Uzumaki Naruto. This knowledge made my chest clench in a bad way. This feeling was so weird. I had never felt this way about **ANYONE**

I soon went home to at least get a few hours of meditation in before I went out again. I perfered to spend my night time in clubs and at bars. They were loud and the people kept you up. And besides dancing was fun. You lost yourself in the beat and the heat. You were no longer you but a large group of sweating flesh.

I took a break from dancing around 2 am. I took notice that school started in 5 hours. I always did.

When I first started looking for clubs that went all night I had no luck. I found this one a year ago, and so was there for dubbed a regular.

What I fail to notice was the familiar blond that entered the club until he was standing next to me at the bar. He was asking the bartender some questions I didnt catch.

Naruto was wearing a blue muscle shirt and a pair of black tight jeans that accented his ass nicely. And his shoes were black converse. When he turned in my direction his perfect eyes widened. His beautiful blue eyes... I noticed that he had black eye liner on. It made the color of his eyes stand out more.

"Hey Gaara!" He blushed. "Didn't expect to see you here." he grinned. "You sure stay out laaate!" he teased and poked me in the face. The spot tingled for a second. I felt my lips lift into an uncharacteristic smile. Thats when I barely realized that my shirt was unbuttoned. "Your drunk to boot. How long have you been out here and why didnt you invite me?" he grinned and grabbed the glass out of my hand. The glass was half full and he chugged it down in one gulp.

He grinned again and put the glass on the counter. "That was Vodka, Naruto." he giggled and it reminded me of his sisters giggle.

"So? I like it when you say my name. Say it again." he grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together. Apparently he couldnt hold down his liquor either.

"Naruto."

"Again." He leaned into me and continued to grin.

"Naruto."

"Gaara. Whos this?" a silky voice said from beside me. Naruto turned his head toward the voice at the exact same time that I did. The voice turned out to be one of my one night stands. He had wavy brown hair that was tied back into a loose pony tail. He was tan with no shirt on and leather jeans. Looking at him closer I realized that he wasn't just a one night stand but an occasional lover.

"What?" Naruto asked. Sushiu smiled at Naruto and put an arm around me. Naruto frowned at the arm.

"I'm Sushiu, Gaaras lover." I growled and shrugged his arm off.

"No you are not." I snapped at him.

"Aw dont be mean. You know how jealous I get when you hang over tramps like this. Dont tease me." he wrapped and tanned arm around my waist. I glared at Sushiu.

"Let go of him." Naruto growled menacingly.

(Narutos pov)

I felt an unsteady rage burning in my stomach as the Sushiu guy wrapped himself around Gaara. Even in my drunken state my vision was clear and I could see Gaaras irritation as well as I could feel it radiating off of him.

"Let go of him." I growled as menacingly as I could. I grabbed Sushiu's wrist and twisted. Sushiu immediately relinquished his hold on Gaara. "Go away. We are having a good time without you. So dont spoil it you ugly bitch." with that I promptly led Gaara onto the dance floor.

There was a haze of movement and bodies all around us. The beat that was blaring out of the speakers was tantalizing and hypnotic to the system. I moved with it and to it. Swaying, bumping, grinding, and jumping. I felt arms encircle me around the waist. I felt safe with those arms around me and that presence behind me. I leaned back into the figure and swayed and grinned against it.

I heard my name being called some where from out in the haze and I saw flashes but I didnt care. I was having the most fun I've had in the longest time. Who cares what people think?

"Hey!" came a distorted call from the haze. I looked around this time, searching for the one trying to catch my attention. I found that the voice belonged to Kiba along with Hinata and Shino. They weren't far off.

Kiba was wearing a fishnet with blue jeans and tennis. Shino (my god! Wasn't waring his coat but a muscle shirt and shorts and sandles. Hinats outfit was the most surprising of all. She wasn't wearing her normal over sized clothing. Tonight she was wearing a yellow spaghetti strap with a wonder bra (from what it looks like, shes got huge boobs!) and tight white jeans and one inch heals with her hair down to her shoulders. I wolf whistled.

"Damn, you guys lookin smexy tonight! Whater you guys doin out so late?" I slurred. I looked back to tell the person holding me to let go but found that the person was Gaara. I grinned at him instead.

"I could ask you the same thing." Kiba raised an eyebrow while smiling at me. "What are you guys doing here and in such a provocative position?"

"Whats it look like we're doin? We're dancin!" Gaara smiled.

"And obviously hammered... and stoned." Shino took the blunt, that had magically appeared in my hand, and took a drag. Then he gave it back.

"I didnt know you smoked Shino!" Kiba yelled.

"I dont. Just wanted to try it." he crossed his arms over his chest. "Might get into the habit though." We laughed. I suddenly had a fun idea.

"Hey Hinata give me your hand!" I yelled over the music. She blushed and did so. I pulled her towards me, turned and punned her imbetween me and Gaara. Her face turned a deep red. "Much better. Dance with us Hina-chan!" I demanded. That was the unsaid cue for Gaara to start dancing again. He seemed to understand enough. After a minute or so Hinata started to join us and move with us.

Kiba dissapeared with Shino to go get drunk and high. It was funny seeing Shino act funny. They joined us dancing a little while later. We were all one big writhing pile of flesh.

We went to sit down later at a circular table in the back. We had drinks and gigs all around us. Hinata didnt drink from what I saw. Then we had a shoving bout where Shino got shoved off the edge and we all started to giggle and laugh.

By the time we left it was 4:30 am. We were all stumbling down the side walk, hanging offa each other. I lead them all to my apartment cause it was closer then where everyone else lived. I was letting them crash there cause there was only a couple of hours till school started.

The mats and blankets were strewn around every where. The guys sprawled out on the ground, not really caring where we slept, while I let Hinata take my bed. I was being the gentleman and not making her sleep with a bunch of sweating smelly guys. As we settled down it became cold so all the guys huddled together for warmth.

"Dont you have a heater? And alarm? A clock?" Kiba whined.

"No. My heaters busted, and I have an internal clock." I mumbled.

"Dont you have any parents or legal guardians living with you?" Shino asked quietly.

"No, my parents are dead." I closed my eyes as I felt the tears start to well up. "And no one wants to adopt me." I choked.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"Its okay." I waited till I was sure that everyone was asleep before I got up. I had to go lock Kyuubis door. I didnt want them asking who lived in there. I laid back down in the same position I was in before I had gotten up. I closed my eyes again.

"Good night Naruto." Gaaras voice rang out from the darkness. It made me jump.

"Night Gaara." I whispered.

**End Chapter 3**

**whew! Finally done. It took me 8 hours to type this cause I kept getting distracted! Lol! Well please Review! **


	4. Believe

**Notes:****Yo! Bwa haha! Sorry again its taking me so long. I've been really busy with school since its the beginning of the year basically and the end of the six weeks. But any ways! Thanks for the reviews to everyone who did. And the last time I checked I had 532 hits to my story! So thank you to all who read, I hope I don't disapoint!**

(Gaara's pov)

I was woken from my gloriously empty sleep by someone who was shaking my shoulder furiously.

"Gaara! Wake up damn it!" this made me think of a few days ago when I had accidentally cuddled with a certain blond at lunch, "We only have an hour till we have to be at school!" Naruto shouted into my ear. This only made the dull throbbing in my head worsen to a migraine. I wasn't really surprised that I had a hangover. Especially with all the alcohol I consumed last night.

I sat up slowly and opened my eyes to see Naruto going around the room and waking everyone else up so they could take quick showers and freshen up. As we did this Naruto washed our clothes and let us barrow shirts(and in Shino's case pants too) so it actually looked like we went home. Well just in case anyone saw us last night and we could deny everything. And Shino didn't enjoy not having his jacket. He mumbled how he felt he was naked.

When everyone was ready we left, around 7:15 am. Naruto lived only a short walk away from the school because we arrived there at 7:35 am. We had walked slow and winced every time a car went by. Naruto didn't belive in drugs so there for he didn't have any pain killers. We got to class just in time to say short hellos to everyone. I just stayed in the back as Naruto greeted Haku with a grin.

Itachi practically jumped Naruto. "Naru-chan!" he cried as he hugged Naruto from behind. "Good morning!" he chirped. And with that Naruto promptly elbowed him in the gut. Itachi spluttered and released his hold. "That... wasn't very... nice.." he grunted.

"Sorry about that! You just surprised me!" Naruto apologised with a smile. I inwardly smirked.

"Don't worry about it." He said and went to sit down, for Mr. Aburame came into the classroom. Everyone followed suit. He looked grave and paler than usual.

"Alright everyone shut up! I need to talk with Naruto for a minute so stay quiet and do whatever until I get back." Naruto stood up a little unsteadily. Mr. Aburame made his way out of the class, Naruto in tow. And it didn't take me long to become increasingly annoyed and bored.

A hand slammed down on my desk rather loudly, catching my attention. The person who distracted me from glaring at the wall was none other than Kiba Inuzuka.

"Alright Mr. Smiley. Tell me whats going on with you and Naruto," he demanded. Kiba was aparantly done with using Naruto's last name. Shino was turned around in his seat slightly and Hinata was gazing at me curiously, for once not turning red and looking in another direction stuttering an apology. And from the corner of my eye I saw Kankuro and Uchiha lean in slightly in curiosity as well. I laced my fingers together, placed my elbows on the desk slowly, and set my chin atop the laced finger.

"Nothing." I replied.

"It didn't look like 'nothin' last night!" he hissed. This turned a lot of heads.

"We were just dancing." I mumbled deffensivly.

_**/Kill him... hurt him... do it like you used to.../**_ Shukaku echoed in my head.

"Dancing my ass! It looked like he was offering himself up to you more like it! A guy shouldn't be able to dance that well!"

_'No they shouldn't," _I silently agreed.

Kiba continued on an on in a continuous rant about blond teens dancing to good, and this was to my growing agitation. And it seriously wasnt helping that Shukaku was spouting nonsence in my head. Shukakus coniving whispers conbined with Kibas ramblings was enough to set me off.

"Shut**UP**! Just shut the hell up!" I yelled at both of them. "Your stupid voice is getting on my nerves! _**GO AWAY!**_" I stood up and slamed both of my fists onto the desk. Soon my wits caught up with me and I calmed down. Kiba was staring at me with wide eyes. He and the others in the classroom have not seen me loose it in a while.

"What the hells your problem?!" he yelled back. His loud voice made my head start to pound. We stared at each other for a few more minutes before I crossed my arms over my chest.

"...Hang over..." I finally muttered. Kiba looked down, finally seeing how foolish he was acting.

"Sorry." He went back to talking with Shino and Hinata. I glared at all those who were still looking at me and promptly sat down.

_**/You should have killed him kid. Or at least hurt him in some kind of way./**_

_'Quiet you..._' I growled at him in my head. After a few minutes he did quiet down and I concentrated on other conversations. I was excellent at zeroing in on someone whispering across a room. I had to do something to pass the time. The Ino girl was talking to one of her friends, Tenten.

"...don't know..." Tenten replied.

"I want to know whats going on between them. I mean obviously Gaara knew about Naruto even before he came to the school!" She mumbled. Sakura soon joined their group.

"Ino! I was at this resturant last night and I saw Naruto there!" Sakura laughed.

"Don't tell me you _**like**_ him?" Ino jabbed.

"As if! I couldn't love anyone other than _**Sasuke**_!" That conversation became increasingly uninteresting right then. Soon after conversations period stopped as Mr. Aburame stepped back through the door with a shaken Naruto following. When I got a better view of Naruto he looked older, more haggared than I have ever seen a person, and... afraid. When they reached Mr. Aburames desk he handed Naruto a piece of paper. Then he headed for his desk, face blank but eyes betraying every emotion he felt. When he sat down Narutos arms and shoulders were shaking.

_'Whats wrong?'_ I wondered.

"... Naruto..." I whispered almost inaudibly.

(Narutos pov)

Mr. Aburame took me out of the classroom and just a little down the hall so no one from the class could over hear. Even with his sunglasses on I could literally feel his stern gaze on me. "Do you know why I took you out of class, Naruto Uzumaki?" I shook my head . The silence along with the seriousness in Mr. Aburames voice made me worried. "Your father, Minato, was one of my subordinates while I was on the force. As was your uncle. And considering your father was good at his job he made some enemies for himself. Enemies that of course left when he had passed away." Mr. Aburame paused for a moment, tilting his head to the side. "Naruto I am going to be completely honest with you. Your fathers enemies are back. Information that you have come back has leaked and it has attracted them here for, what I believe is, revenge." Mr. Aburame put a hand on my shoulder.

"How do you know all of this?" I finally managed. I couldn't feel any part of my body as I waited for the answer. His face became hard.

"My son. He has a certain way of... getting information out of people." he pursed his lips. "Are okay Uzumaki?" Apparently I was shaking because my vision blurred and Mr. Aburame started to vaibrate. I swallowed, trying to get the lump out of my throat. "Don't worry Uzumaki. We wont let them do anything to you. We wont let them get to you. They wont do anything bad to you. You have changed now. This is only the reprocusiouns of your fathers choices and actions. You have nothing to worry about." he assured me.

I wanted to scream as the bile rose into my mouth. Why was I always living in fear? Why did it always have to be this way?

After my father had died most of his enemys had left but some stayed behind to torment me. One of them, a specific one I prefered not to think about, carved an intracate scar over my stomach. Unconciously I traced the patterns and swirls over them. Mr. Aburame saw the panic in my eyes.

"Get a hold of yourself Naruto Uzumaki! You must be strong! The only one that can truly hurt you is you." he waited a few more minutes as I reeled in my emotions and put them under lock and key. He saw that I was partially calmed down and started to walk back to the classroom door. I followed him, still not completely under controle, and he went straight for his desk. I still followed and he passed me a note on my way to my desk. I was aware that I did not look well, and many eyes could tell from what I could see, and that I was partially still shaking.

When I got to my seat I read the note:

_**Uzumaki,**_

_**This is a pass for you and another to go home. Do you want to? If yes see me after Homeroom. **_

_**Aburame**_

I smiled slightly. Mr. Aburame was being so nice and understanding. I folded it back up and slipped it into my back pack. I sat and thought about who I would ask to go with me. The time ticked away slowly as I waited for the bell to ring. I was sure the clock was mocking me. Those last twenty minutes felt like an eternity.

When the bell **DID** ring almost immediately someone was at my desk. "Whats wrong?" a soothing voice asked. It was Haku. I shook my head at him. He clearly got the message that I didnt want to talk about it. "Thats fine. You don't have to tell me about it. Its not my buisness to pry." He patted my head confortingly. "Do you want me to do anything for you?" He asked. I looked over his shoulder and saw Mr. Aburame staring at me. I nodded my head at him and he nodded in return. He started to scribble down on a piece of paper. "What?" Haku clearly got the message wrong and thought I was nodding as an okay for his question.

"Tell my Art teacher that I wont be in class today. I am going to go home." I croaked. My throaght felt like someone had wiped it with sand paper. Haku went away and was soon replaced by Sasuke and Gaara. That in itself surprised me because they normally show that they dont care.

"Naruto." Gaara whispered in his quiet gravely voice.

"Don't. I don't... want to be conforted right now. I just don't want to talk about it." I told them straight out.

"What do you want to do?" Sasuke asked me. Maybe they wanted to cheer me up even though I didn't want to be?

"Leave." I replied.

"Uzumaki, have you decided who you are going to take with you?" Mr. Aburame appeared right behind Gaara. I shook my head no. "Gaara? Sasuke?" They both looked at their teacher. "Do you mind taking Naruto home and staying with him?" He asked them.

"No." they both replied simultaneously.

"But you said only one was supposed to go with me!" I yelled in confusion. People stared.

"The best kind of protection lies within those you would not have thought of." But in all truth I was thinking of them. Both of them, I just hadn't thought of who I would take with me. Mr. Aburame set the excuse slips down in front of me before walking out of the room.

"Naruto, lets get you out of here." Gaara had already gathered my things into my pack and slung it over his shoulders. I nodded and tried to stand up but only ended up face first onto the ground. I heard people laugh but then abruptly shutting up. Sasuke and Gaara must have glared at them. I guess my nerves in my legs were shot too, cause I couldn't feel a thing. Only the aching pain through my face.

But then I felt myself being lifted by strong arms. I was then flung onto a muscular back. "Hold on." Sasuke said, I finally realized it was him, so I wrapped my arms around his shoulders to keep from falling. Then he proceeded to hold my up by wrapping his arms around my legs and walking down the steps carefully but quickly. I could feel the hot glare of some of the girls in the class.

Gaara was right behind us, all of our packs were dangling off of him like he himself owned them.

"Where do you live?" Sasuke asked me over his shoulder when we stepped outside of the class.

"I know where he lives." Gaara spoke up before I could answer. I silently thanked him because I didn't think I had the voice to tell Sasuke or anyone anything right now.

"Didn't you say you had a hangover?" Sasuke enquired.

"That dosn't stop me from knowing the things I know." Gaara glared.

"And how is it your buisness to know where he lives?" Sasuke growled.

"Just the same as it is not your buisness to know, Uchiha." Gaara growled back. As this was said I started to drift off into a blank sleep.

_**/Do you want me to take over this time?/**_ Kyuubi asked me before I slipped away.

_'No, its not night yet.'_

_**/What about tonight then? I barely got to play last night!/**_ I heard her complain.

_'I will give you tomarrow afternoon and a day this weekend. How about that?' _I felt her smile.

_**/Thanks kit. I appriciate it. Your being unusually nice. Is it because we are back here?/**_ I didn't answer her. And she realized that I had already slipped away._**Sleep well kit./**_

(Gaaras pov)

"... weekend..." Naruto had mumbled in his sleep. He had fallen asleep half way to his apartment. The blond must have been emotionally exausted by now. This only made me wonder what Mr. Aburame had said to him.

_'I wonder if it had anything to do with his little sister.'_ I mumbled in my head.

When we reached the apartment I tried to open the front door but it was locked. So was the window and there was no key.

"Check his pockets." Uchiha ordered. I glared, normally I don't do anything that people say, and began checking the blonds pockets. It took me a minute because Narutos pockets were deep and the key ring itself was littered with keys. It took me another few minutes to find the right key. The key I remember Naruto using in the morning had a circular top, and that made up the majority of the keys themselves.

"Hurry up. I cant hold him forever and my arms are falling asleep." Uchiha glared.

"You can wait. He shouldn't weigh all that much."

"Well suprisingly enough hes not light either," he sneered sarcastically.

"And I thought you could do anything, Mr. Perfect." I muttered right back. Then I found the right key and unlocked the door. The door creaked as we walked in. The place was still a mess from earlier this morning. Nobody had bothered to clean it up because we were in such a big hurry. The beds were still laid out and clothes were strewn everywhere. It smelled like booze and smoke. Most likely from all of those who stayed in the room.

"I didn't know he smoked." Uchiha's nose wrinkled. "And has he ever tried cleaning anything?" He asked no one in particular as he started to kick stuff out of his way. We went over to the bad that was in the living room and placed him on top of the covers.

"Some people spent the night."I told him, explaining why things were more of a mess than they normally would have been.

"How do you know these things? Were you one of the people?" I nodded while I covered Naruto up. "That is so strange. I never knew you two became such good friends." He muttered to himself. I began picking this up. "So he lives in the living room. So who lives in that other room?"

"I don't know."

"Want me to help?"

"You help?" my jaw dropped slightly in supprise. He glared at me.

"I can do normal things to." He gritted his teeth. I shrugged.

Working together we got don't with the cleaning in 45 minutes. The one room was really dirty. It took us another 30 minutes to get all the dishes clean and kitchen sparkling and clean. After the place was practically sparkling clean, or as clean as it was going to get, we sat down to a well deserved rest. There was nothing to keep us busy now and no one wanted to break the peacefull but restless silence.

We had been facing away from Naruto when he had started up. At first it was just whimpering and him making this strangled gurlgling noise but it soon became much worse. He started screaming and thrashing about and swiping at unseen enemies. Not long after that tears started flowing down his cheeks.

I acted as quickly and as logically as I could by putting a hand over his mouth. I started to stroke his hair, dodging fists as I did so, so I could calm him down. His thrashings slowed and he stopped screaming so I assumed it worked.

Naruto had fist like that all day, so I guess you could say God gave us something to do, so me and Uchiha took turns quieting him. Only once did it really require both of us.

That one consisted of Naruto tearing at his face, kicking, screaming, and thrashing. Uchiha had to hold down his legs and hips while I had to sit on top of him, pin his arms above his head with one hand, and place the other hand over his mouth.

It felt strangly good to sit on top of the more muscular teen. But it was also akward at the same time. So as soon as Naruto quieted down I got off.

"Hopefully we wont have to do that again!" Uchiha commented, scratching his chin. I nodded in agreement, panting.

Later that day, around 4 I had to leave. I really and honestly didn't want to but I had to if I wanted to keep my job.

"Call me if anything happens or if he wakes up." I told Uchiha, giving him my cell number. "I'll bring you both something to eat on my way back." I added and left. There was only one call that was made to me by Uchiha. Naruto had apparently said something in his sleep.

'Kyu... blood... Ramen... sa... ga... STOP!' or something along those lines. The sentence didn't make any sense at all. When I got off work I took 4 bowls of Ramen, 2 bowls of Miso, and 3 eggrolls to Narutos apartment. I already knew Naruto ate a lot. When I arrived back at his apartment Uchiha was watching TV quietly and another blanket was placed over Naruto.

"Has he woken up?"

"I would have called if he had." Uchiha answered.

"You should be hungry by now." He nodded and headed to the table. I set down a bowl of Miso in front of him and handed him an eggroll. I grabbed myself a Ramen.

Naruto rolled over and groaned. We glanced at him quickly. A silly though went through my head. _'Maybe he smells or senses the Ramen even in his sleep!'_

"He's waking up." Uchiha whispered. I was already up and walking over to his bed side. I placed a hand on his shoulder and I felt his body stiffen.

"Naruto, are you awake?" I asked him quietly. He immediately relaxed hearing that it was only me. He turned to face me.

"I woke up just now." He croaked, not having used his voice other than screaming and whimpering. "Do I smell Ramen?" He asked, grinning as his stomach growled loudly. I looked at him, a little disappointedly, and nodded.

"Why don't you come and join us?" I said and guestured for him to follow me as I walked back into the kitchen.

"Us?"

"Uchiha Sasuke has graciously stuck around to help take care of you." He pailed. "Something the matter?"

"No, I just didn't expect _**him**_ to be so nice." He bit his lip then smiled. "Oh well! The more the marrier!" He grinned happily. Naruto was at the table before I was, sitting down just as I walked in. I handed him the Ramen bowls and his eggrole. He gobbled all of his food down.

"Are you alright now?" Uchiha asked, breaking the silence, quietly. Naruto slowed his eating and stared.

"What time is it?" he asked me through a mouthful of food.

"9:27 pm." I answered him. Naruto screeched and stood up, almost knocking over the table.

"I'm late! I'm really late!" He ran about the room flailing his arms. Uchiha stared at him warily and yet curiously at the same time. I grabbed his arm and yanked as soon as he passed my seat. He fell backwards and his face landed in my lap. He straightened up and blushed furiously. He looked like an over ripe tomato. It was... cute.

"S-sorry." He stammered and tried to stand up.

"I already told them." I said. He stopped trying to stand.

"What?" he stared at me in confusion.

"I already told Ayame you wouldn't be able to make it. I took over your shift so that you would still get your full paycheck." I stated. His eyes widened and then he grinned.

"Thank you so much!" He yelled and threw his arms around my shoulders. I stiffened at the unexpected contact with the blond. But after afew seconds I relaxed slightly.

"Not to ruin this beautiful moment but care to explain what happened Uzumaki?" Uchiha growled. Narutos arms went limp. I could tell he was trying to avoid this situation and now he was all frozen up because a certain someone had to bring it up again.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He mumbled finally and got off me.

"I don't care. Tell me why you started freaking out after Mr. Aburame took you out of the classroom and talked with you. Tell me." Uchiha ordered.

"I said I don't wanna talk about it!" Naruto replied sharply, and slightly louder.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me."

"Leave me alone!" At that moment Naruto took off for the bedroom, he was a blond and tan blur as he went, and then a door slammed. I reached the hallway before I stopped.

"You shouldn't push him too far." I glared at the Uchiha.

"We have a right to know whats going on. The adults seem to know but wont tell us students. I know this because I have tried asking." He stood up from the table and walked towards the bedroom door. He knocked. "Naruto?" he called loud enough so that Naruto could hear.

"Go away!" Naruto yelled his reply. I sighed.

"Uchiha move." I stated. Uchiha glanced at me then directly at me as if he saw something on my face. He stepped to the side, enough room for me to menouver myself, and I started forward. The door wasn't particularly thick so it wasn't any trouble when I kicked it in. The door hung off its hinges as I walked in, Uchiha right behind me.

The walls were light blue with pink trim and girly white fluffy furnature. This looked like a girls room so I amidiately saw that the room belonged to Narutos younger sister, Kyuubi. And Naruto himself was huddled up on the bed in the corner.

"What do you want?" he growled at me. I walked over to Kyuubis bed and sat down on the edge. I turned to him with a blank face and asked him the first question that came to mind.

"Where is Kyuubi?" Narutos eyes widened considerably and his mouth fell agape.

"H-how?" he wheezed.

"I saw her once. Who are you Naruto Uzumaki?" I stared into his eyes as I asked this.

"What did she tell you?" He countered. His eyes narrowed into fox like slits, I didn't answer at first.

"A little about your past." I finally answered after a stiff silence. He pailed. "She told me about what she did." I added quickly as Naruto seemed to have started to choke on his air. Then Naruto seemed to do the most peculiar thing. He started to laugh. But then tears streaked down his face and he started to sob. It was the most confusing and heart wrenching thing I had ever seen. I didn't know what to do so I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Y-you k-k-knew a-about all t-that and ye-yet you did-didn't ha-hate m-me?" He asked, hiccuping as he did so. I nodded.

"I dont really have a reason to hate you." I mumbled gently to him.

"What did she do?" Uchiha rudely cut in. I look at Naruto, he has calmed down some, and he sighs. Naruto calms down even more, and I drop my hand from his shoulder, and sits up. Then he growls under his breath as if he were hearing something he didn't like.

"Okay..." He motions for Uchiha to sit in a chair near by. As he does this I sit crossed legged on the other side of the bed, farthest away from both of them as possible. "Have you heard about that massacre that happened here about 10 years ago? The one that the news or police never released any information on to others? Like who or what did it?" we both nodded.

He took a deep breath.

"Okay well I do know who did it..." over the course of 45 minutes Naruto told us about his past. Or, all that he could tell us about his past. Kyuubi, as Naruto had said, was not really his sister but another part of his conciousness. His only real friend, or so he says, and a voice in his head that tells him things. Somethings he doesn't want to know. So he was like me in some ways. Only he could go to sleep and they got along. But the story in itself was sad, hardly anything went right.

Naruto looked at us expectantly. "What?" I finally asked.

"I told you guys about me, so its only fair that you tell me about you."

"You didn't tell us what was going on. Remember that was our first question." Uchiha pointed out.

"Okay fine... but afterwards will you tell me?" we both nodded. Naruto grinned and took a deep breath. "I already told you my dad was a cop. And him being a cop made problems for the rest of his family cause they didn't like him and enemies are a given when your a cop. So when my parents died they started coming after me to get back at my dad. And word got out that I was here so now the enemies of my dad are here looking for me and I need to keep watch and not go anywhere by myself." he huffed. "There done. Now spill."

"So... I... knew... you?" Uchiha asked, confused. Apparently he just got it. "From middle school?" His face was contorted in what looked like worry.

Naruto nodded solemly. "You were one of the main people that picked on me. The reason why I left." Uchiha flinched like he had been struck.

"I'm sorry." Uchiha apologised and looked down.

"Dont worry about it, Sasuke-teme." Naruto beamed.

"Okay dobe." Naruto made a face of distaste.

"Tell me about you!" He pointed a finger at me. I began to panic on the inside.

"He's a murderer, Naruto." a snide voice sounded. "It happened around the time that Kyuubi killed your parents. He was too young then so he couldn't be tried as an adult. Instead they sent him to a center for the clynically insane. Kinda just like you." Uchiha smirked. I glared at him for revealing something so personal.

"I killed my mother when I was born. Then my father, uncle, and those around me when I became older." I answered the question that was shining in Narutos eyes. "I have a voice as well. His name is Shukaku, though he is not as kind as your voice. It was Shukaku that made me do those things. It was his whispered voice in my head telling me to hurt them." I told him. Naruto stared at me with wide curious eyes. It was a supprise not to find pity or anger in them. Then he smiled at me and started to laugh. I knew what was about to come.

Instictively I lifted my arms to protect myself. It didn't work out so well because my arms spread out wide enough for Narutos head to colide with my chest. The force of the leap was strong enough to throw me against the wall, my head contacting with it the hardest. He laughed nervously and backed off a little.

"You okay Gaara?" He asked me. I nodded and rubbed the small bump on the back of my head. "Sorry about that. I just got so happy that you guys didn't hate me, then I figure that you were just like me in a different kind of way and that you opened up to me. Which reminds me..." Naruto crouched on the bed and sprung without warning at Uchiha. His eyes widened as they fell to the floor in a heap.

I smiled to myself as Uchiha procceded to hit Naruto over the head over and over again with a pillow. Uchiha was completely freaked out. His composure completely gone when Naruto made physical contact with him. Naruto refused to let go. It was a comical sight. And it didn't help that Naruto was giggling and laughing the entire time. Uchihas reaction was something like a child being burned.

After a little while Uchiha calmed down enough and Naruto let him go. And I was starting to belive that I had finally found a friend. Someone I could trust with my secrets. And if I started to trust Naruto I wouldn't hate my existence to such a degree anymore.

(Narutos pov)

I was having a blast! Sasuke started hanging out with me instead of tormenting me like I thought he would! That is so freaking awesome! He was being so nice to me to boot! I can seriously see why all those girls like him so much. Gaara, Sasuke, and me sit by eachother and hang out with one another as much as possible. And at lunch we moved away from the hustle and bustle of the main group. We didn't move very far away. Just two trees away.

Itachi followed us along with Kisame, Kankuro, Neji, and Lee. I guess I split the group up because Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and Haku sat at the tree next to my group. Tenten just kind of wanders from group to group. And Ino, Sakura, Shikimaru, and Choji sat at the regular tree. And this only happened a week after I had been at this school. I did have a feeling that Ino and Sakura didn't like me very much anymore. They kept on glaring at me like I'd done something wrong.

Sasuke is gay. I know that is completely random but its true. That one was a shocker for me. Reason being is that he seemed to enjoy all that attention he was getting from those girls.

They were being cool and keeping my secret of being from around here. But I had a feeling that someone from inside my group knew. I couldn't tell who, it was just a feeling.

Itachi and Kisames friends came and sat with every once and a while. Maybe two times a week or something. One looked a little like Gaara except the eyes and facial expressions.

Today was the day before everyone was let out for the winter break. There was going to be a a party at Nejis and Hinats house, a mansion more like it, for christmas. Everyone was invited of course. I'd only been over there once and that was only when Neji got uncharacteristically sick with a cold and I had asked Lee if I could go over to visit him.

Gaara, Sasuke, and me met at the bar every once and awhile as well with the group. Otherwise we would go for walks and just hang out by ourselves. And that was after work of course. Sasuke came to eat at the resturant sometimes and we would flirt with eachother.

The other came to, cause Sasuke told them where I worked! It was cool at first cause they were all hesitant and stuff but now they are brave enough to tease me!

Gaara stayed at my apartment most of the time. He would sleep on my bed while I slept on Kyuubis. She was angry at him at first, but eventually got over it. And she really hated it when she figured out that I would be hanging out with both him and Sasuke a lot too. She was sure that Sasuke would hurt me again, just like he used to.

There was a connection tying me here now. There was peace and happiness here. The danger that was coming for me completely slipped my mind for the time being. I was safe as long as I was with them.

"Naruto." Gaara croaked. His cheeks were pink and he didnt look to great. He was standing outside Kyuubis door when I woke up.

"Hmm Gaara?"

"I wont be going to school today. I'm sick. (ss I said today was the last day till we got let out for winter break.) Can I stay here?" I smiled and laughed weakly due to being so tired.

"Sure, but if you stay away from home they might think you've run away." He smiled, a smile only reserved for me, and nodded. The smile itself wasnt that big but it was a smile none the less. I climed out of bed as he left. He lay back down in the bed in the living room and I watched him drift off.

At first it was near to impossible to get Gaara to go to sleep. He had said something about Shukaku, his voice, taking over his body and doing terrible things while he hiself was asleep and got blamed for it.

His body was only really taken over afew times when Gaara slept. And we soon figured out that Shukaku was all talk and no bite. He didnt stand a chance against Kyuubi and got his ass handed to him on a silver platter every time he tried to do anything. Shukaku stopped putting up a struggle soon after the first few weeks. Gaara also told us Shukaku has stopped trying to influence his thoughts. Gaara was now able to relax even more.

I left Gaara asleep and went to school afterwards. Sasuke met me half way to the school.

"Hey!" I greeted him. He nodded and started to rub his arm as if he were cold. "You okay?"

"I feel chilly and its not because its cold."

**End of Chapter**

**Sorry again for being so freaking late with this chapter! My computer shut down and then when I started typing again so did my internet! This is the worst luck. It seems even the gods themselves dont want me to finish this story! But worry not! If I have to I will face even the gods to complete this story!**


	5. Sin's

**Notes:****This chapter is going to be very very short. One of my shortest chapters yet. And I am very sorry that it is! Please don't hurt me!**

(Gaara's pov)

When I awoke that afternoon I was freezing. I couldn't understand why. There was just this chill going down my spine. I was warm yet there was a curling chill griping my heart. It was licking up and down my spine as well. I still had a fever and I was hungry as well so I got up and went to the kitchen.

Since I was staying at his house most of the time, Naruto had so graciously added to his seemingly never ending supply of Ramen. Now there were fruits, vegetables, soups, and bacon. You couldn't go wrong with bacon. It was the food of the gods! He also had a loaf of bread that was ever present on the counter, which was used for quick breakfasts.

Even though I was used to spending time with Naruto it was still strange to be this close to someone. Shukaku respected them enough to not try anything while in their presence, school, or at their apartment. Not even while I slept. That was another reason why I liked being at Narutos apartment.

I also found it a little strange that Naruto had excepted me so easily, even got close enough to me to touch and sleep next to. He wasn't disgusted by my presence at all! I had to ask him why and he told me that it wasn't my fault that Shukaku was a raving lunatic. That Shukaku's actions were Shukaku's actions, not my own. And so I was therefore a good person to Naruto. He didn't even blame me for being violent from time to time. When that happened he would calmly tame my hand and run circles along the back of it. Or he would take me away from the person that was causing me to be violent.

I warmed up some soup, when my mom was alive this is what she would feed me when I was sick, and looked around the kitchen. A pantry, counter, sink, microwave, toaster, small fridge, the works basically. The walls were a dirty brown and there were some cracks in them. The place didn't look like much or look very nice but was all in all the most comfortable place in the world to me. I liked being in the small cozy apartment. It was relaxing. I made myself some tea as well as got the soup out of the microwave and sat down to eat.

I put the cup down and all of a sudden it cracked. I may have not been superstitious but that was pretty damn creepy. "What the hell is going on?" I muttered to myself.

(Naruto's pov)

I was whistling as I started walking out of my work. I was feeling awesome even though there had been an air of _uneasiness_ I just simply couldn't feel. Everyone was on edge for some reason or another and no one could really recall why.

The street I turned on was pitch black and I started to feel that uneasiness creep up my spine. I felt like eyes were on me but I ignored it. Then I started to hear things. It sounded like someone was... ... following me!!

I turned around but I couldn't see anyone. Kyuubi got nervous vibes and was starting to give them to me. I felt a presence behind me and I turned around again. I was about to scream out of paranoia when a hand clapped over my mouth.

"Shhhh!" A familiar voice hissed in my hear. The hand let go and I reached up and clutched at my heart like a scared little maiden in distress.

"Sasuke?"

"No I'm the boogie man. Of course its me, dobe!" A bright light was directed into my face and I started to blink. "Sorry!" The light turned away and I saw that Sasuke was carrying a flashlight.

"What are you doing here?! You scared the hell out of me!" Sasuke smirked.

"Looking for you. Gaara's sick remember? And since he's not here I came to pick you up instead."

"Oh yeah." I nodded and we continued on our way to my apartment. Not long after we started walking again did I hear the sound of footsteps following. I placed and hand on Sasukes shoulder as I came to a stop. He stopped as well, looking back at me.

"Hey Sasuke? Did you bring anyone with you?"

(Gaara's pov)

Naruto was late. Usually we got back to his apartment at 9 pm or 9:15 pm. And at the moment it was 9:30 pm. Very unlike Naruto. I started to pace in the living room. I coughed every so often. As much as I didn't like people, I was used to Naruto being there, and that is saying a lot. So quickly and easily did he get past my shields and deemed me harmless. Well only harmless to him. Fuck everyone else.

I should have known something bad was going to happen eventually. I wasn't with him and I was sick to boot. And that glass having cracked earlier. I had left it where it was at, it didn't leak even though I didn't drink any of the tea.

I stopped pacing and took a deep breath, causing myself to cough while I was at it. But I had to calm down. Naruto was probably alright. Ayame just made him stay late, thats all. But he would have called if that were the case! He had my cell number, so he could have called.

I ran/walked to my cell and checked for any missed calls. There were none.

'_Shit!'_ I screamed inside my head.

_**/Calm down kid. He's fine./**_ Shukaku reassured me. _**/He's a strong one./**_ That was another thing to add to my creepy list. Shukaku, the one who has tormented me for most of my life, was consoling me.

"Why do you respect him so much?" I asked him aloud. No one was around to hear me so who cares?

_**/Cause the kid and his Kyuubi dominated me./**_ He said a little grudgingly. My eyes widened as flashes of how dogs dominated each other and- _** Not like that you dumb ass!/**_ He yelled at me. I cringed from the sudden loud of his voice that pierced the silence.

"You don't have to shout." I grumbled.

_**/And you don't have to be such a pervert./**_ He growled at me.

"Your the one that put it that way!" I hissed. Anyone who heard this would have thought I was a crazy person for talking and yelling at myself. Well of course I **AM**a crazy person but they don't have to know that yet.

_**/Your the one that misinterpreted it that way!/**_

"Shut up!" I could feel Shukakus discomfort and for once, relief. Did that mean that Shukaku really cared and didn't hate me? I stopped thinking about it and turned my attention back to my cell. There had still been no call, even while I was being distracted by Shukaku.

"Naruto... where are you?" I bit my thumb.

(Naruto's pov)

Sasuke shook his head yes.

"Why did you ask such a ridiculous question?" He asked me.

"Never mind." I shook my head and we continued on our way.

"You getting paranoid on me?" Sasuke teased. I growled at him playfully and he chuckled. "Don't worry. I understand. Want me to tell Gaara not to get sick again?" he chuckled again as I glared. I walked a little ways ahead of him.

"Your mean." I muttered.

"How so?"

"Your teasing Gaara. You know how he would react if I told him, right?"

"Yeah I know." Things went silent after that. Then the light went out. And soon after that followed a grunt.

"Sasuke?" I turned around. I gasped. The light didn't go out it was pointing upward. And Sasuke was laying face down on the ground. The light beamed up and I could see someone looming over him. An object that looked slightly like a bat was clutched in the persons hand. "Sasuke!" I screamed. I took a step forward but stopped when I saw the figure raise the object. The person stepped toward me, over Sasuke, and fear trickled up my spine.

I turned tail and ran. I knew it was cowardly of me to leave Sasuke there all by himself but my instincts just took over. I ran as fast as I could to my apartment. I turned in an ally way and hid behind a dumpster to catch my breath.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as I felt my cell vibrate. I took it out and I realized it was Gaara on the other line. I was panting and couldn't answer right away. "Naruto? Are you alright?" He asked, slightly freaking out.

"G-gaara...Help... Me!" I rasped. "Sasuke-" The phone was then ripped out of my hands and I heard it collide with the wall.

I turned just in time to see a bat shaped object flying toward my face.

_/Naruto!!/_ was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

**End Chapter**

**Sorry again that this chapter is so short! Please forgive me!**


	6. Saviors

**Notes: ****This chapter is going to be, yet again, one of my shortest. I am also very sorry that it is so late. I have had a lot of stuff to do and I got really lazy. My brain stopped working and the inspiration stopped coming to me.**

(Gaara's pov)

As soon as I was finished with that call and I hung up my phone I was running out of the apartment and down the street. The call itself didnt last very long, less than a minute, but it was enough to alert me that something was wrong. Naruto was in trouble and apparently Uchiha was involved.

I went down the allyway a few streets from the apartment, it was a short cut to were I assumed everything that went on happened. Not three streets out of the ally do I find the Uchiha lying face down, a flashlight pointing towards the heavens, and no Naruto in sight.

I ran over to him and rolled him over onto his back so I could see his face. He groaned in pain as I felt around his body for injuries. I found a lump on the back of his head that was bleeding but that was about it. His eyes opened to peer at me.

"_G-Gaara_?!" He gasped in disbelief. He sat up and clutched his head in pain. "Naruto!" He yelled and looked around frantically before gasping out in pain yet again.

"Someone must have taken him." I muttered to him. His eyes went wide. He tried to get up but didnt succeed. He just ended up sitting back down.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled as he tried to get up again, this time succeeding.

"Its okay." I replied out of shock. Uchihas never apologized.

"No its not okay! They took Naruto to god knows where, and who knows what in hells name they are doing to him!" He yelled. The normally calm Uchiha teen started to rave and panic. I stood up and did the most unGaara like thing I could think of. I slapped him. He stood there in a state of shock of his own and just looked at me. Then, ever so slowly, he reached a hand up to his cheek and touched. He winced in pain.

"Get a hold of yourself!" I growled in my low voice. "Its not like you to panic!" I glared at him, giving as much killing intent as I could to it, and that seemed to somber him up a little bit. Something that seemed to insagnifigant to be important caught my eye, but Shukaku insisted that I find out what it was. The thing was a small piece of paper. I grabbed the fallen flashlight and picked up the paper and read it. 'West Warehouse number 1-'

"Whats that?" Uchiha inquired, finally regaining his lost composure.

"A clue." He read it.

"If its a clue its not much of one."

"But its all we have to go by. If hes not there or any where in the vicinity we will go to the cops."

"Your really taking this seriously." I glared at him.

"Get your car." I ordered. For once he did exactly as I asked of him. 10 minutes later a black sports car drove up next to me. The windows were rolled down and Uchihas face peered at me out through the darkness. I shown the flashlight in his eyes and he winced.

"C'mon." He muttered. I went around to the passenger side and climbed in. The ride should have only taken 12 minutes in the least, from my estimate, but it felt like a total of 5 hours.

We got out of the car, it was parked outside of the fence to the warehouses, and jumped it. We looked for the warehouses that started with a 1, that includes the number 1 in itself. That first one was empty as we suspected. We didnt open any of them, but instead checked for sounds in all the next 6 we checked (10-15). There was not a single sound from those last 6. We were about to give up when we heard laughter along with chains rattling coming from warehouse 13. We made our way over to it and peered in through a low hanging window.

There werent that many people in there. About 5 all in all. They were stringing up a chain in the middle of the large room, right in the middle of a bright shaft of light. Closer to me and Uchiha it was dim and there were puddles everywhere. Water was dropping from the rotten ceiling. It must have rained at some point in time today over here.

I spotted a bundle of black between two of the men. One of the men had a blood covered bat hanging from his left hand. Thats when I knew we found out where the people that took Naruto were. But where was Naruto himself?

A chain came down from above until it reached the floor, apparently one of the goons farther away was lowering it. The two that were the closest to the black bundle went towards the chain and dragged it over to the black bundle on the ground. They attatched it to something inside of the black bundle and the chain tensed. The chain started to slowly pull whatever was in the bundle out. With a gasp I finally realized where Naruto was.

Naruto was being strung up, a foot from the ground and in easy reach, above them in the light. He was bleeding from his nose and there were bruises all over his body. He was hanging by a pair of cuffs. I growled in anger and headed towards the door.

I cracked it open, it didnt squeak surprisingly, far enough for me to slip in. I kept to the shadows as I crept closer, I could hear them talk quietly amongst themselves. They were speaking in low whispers and I could barely make out was they were saying if that. I got within 3 yards of the people and a hand grabbed me from behind. I whirled around, ready to punch the person into unconsciousness but stopped when I realized it was just Uchiha Sasuke. His eyes widened a fraction before it turned into a glare.

"What are you doing?!" He hissed as quietly as he could.

"Rescuing Naruto!" I hissed back just as quietly, if not quieter, back.

"This is no way-" He was cut off when we heard a loud groan. I inched forward slowly, still keeping to the shadows. Uchiha followed silently without further protest. We were within 6ft of the furthest guy from Naruto, and he was only 3ft away from Naruto. We could hear them clearly now, and see the damage done to Naruto. There was another loud groan and we finally realized that Naruto was waking up.

I wanted to run at them but something made me stay where I was and watch what was going on.. Narutos eyes fluttered open and he groaned again. Then his eyes became wide and bright with fear as he realized where he was, who he was with, and what position he was in.

"Ah, so the kit is awake now." Laughed the taller male of the 5. "Finally, after so long, our revenge can commence." Naruto whimpered as he heard the cruel laughter around him. "Nothing to say to this 'Kyuubi'?"

"M-my name is N-N-Narut-to." He managed after a few tries.

"Yes, but your last name is Uzumaki, and your father only had 1 child." The man chuckled. "How can there be two children with the same last name of 'Uzumaki' exist in this world when there is only one Uzumaki family and that family only had 1 child. That is unless your... LYING!" As the man said this he whipped back his leg and pounded it into the soft flesh of Narutos stomach. Narutos eyes bulged and the air in his lungs was forced out of his body with and audible gasp. Spittle flew from his open mouth with every hit that connected. I wanted to go but whatever had its hold on me kept me rooted to the spot.

The man went on with this for a little while longer until his leg got tired. "Poor kid," the closest guy to us mumbled under his breath. I made a silent note in my head to question that guy once I was done beating the hell out of the other 4.

"Alright boys, we're gonna have a little fun." Laughter and chuckles resounded from the group of 4. The closest guy just shook his head in horror.

1 got out a foot length of chain, another had the bloody bat, another got out a crow bar, and the leader got out a hunters knife. The last guy just stood there out of the way, observing what was going on.

Naruto was slipping back into unconsciousness, a natural defence to escape the pain and the pain to come.

That was when I made my move. I dont know if Uchiha followed but oh well, to bad for him, if he didnt.

(Narutos pov)

It was dark where I was. But it was noisy. I couldnt tell which way the noise was coming from. Thats when the blinding pain started up all over my body. It was like an infection eating away at me. Somewhere in the back of my mind a voice told me that everything was quiet, but I didnt pay it any mind. I didnt care.

Then I heard someone calling my name. Softly at first but gradually gaining in strength and urgency as I didnt respond to whoever it was that was calling my name. Not long after the memories started to flood my brain at an alarming rate.

When I finally did open my eyes I was gazing into the worried eyes of none other than Sasuke Uchiha. Funny, I didnt used to think that teme could actually look worried.

"S...asuke..." I wrasped out. His eyes widdened considerably.

"Be quiet you. The ambulance will be here in a minute. Dont waste your energy with talking or you'll pass out again." His face turned slowly to the side as if looking at something in the distance.

_'He's so beautiful.'_ I thought as Kyuubi snickered before falling silent once again. _'Why isnt Gaara here? Why didnt he come?'_ I cried inside my mind.

_**/Dont think like that. He should be here somewhere./**_ Kyuubi reasured me.

"Gaara, he's mumbling. Do you think they hit him to hard?" Sasuke asked. My eyes went wide.

"I dont think they were very concerned with his safety, Uchiha." came the soft reply from somewhere off to the left. I immediately knew it was Gaara. I let my head fall to the side so I could see Gaara there myself, and when my eyes rested on him I felt myself relax. The red head was sitting next to me cross legged, glaring at me as if I were useless. But as I continued to gaze into his sea foam eyes they softened ever so slightly.

When it registered in my mind that he was still wearing his pajamas with a coat over it and house shoes I realized that he was still sick. "Gaara... you have a fever." I mumbled.

"Now is not the time to be worrying about me." His clothes were dirty and splattered in blood. Even the skin that was not covered in cloth was like that. He was panting and his cheeks had a slight pink tinge to them. Either he was exhausted or his fever had risen.

A screeching noise met my ears as sirens were heard not to far away. Doors were slammed and the sound of a stretcher was being dragged toward us. The warehouse doors were dragged open and the ambulance people... paramedics... approached us. When they got there they lifted me onto the stretcher and began pulling me toward the ambulance. I screamed as my limbs protested with the movement.

They dragged me into the ambulance, allowing Gaara and Sasuke in back. Sasuke refused saying something about getting his car. So there we were. Me and Gaara and a peramedic.

Gaara reached over and took my uncovered hand into his own. "W-What are you doing?" I asked him quietly.

"Isnt this what I am saposed to do?" He asked with a small smile on his lips.

**End Chapter**

**Sorry its so short, but you forgive me right? Right? Why dont no one love me?!**

**Anyways, review if you like it. All kinds of reviews are welcome. Bye bye!**


	7. Injuries

**Notes: Sorry its been a while. My computer kinda went on the fritz and we needed a new keyboard. That took a while but I'm sorry! Thanks for all of you who continue to read my stories! There are also other reasons but if you have questions about those just ask.**

**Chapter 7: Injuries**

(Gaaras POV)

Naruto was seriously injured. He had 3 broken ribs, 1 sprained wrist, a concousion, and a fracture in his left leg. They weren't going to let him out of the hospital for a while. Not until most of his injuries healed up. 4 to 5 months of being in this disinfected hell hole should about do it. The school was going to send Itachi and me to Narutos room all school day about three times a week so he could stay caught up, that was until they figured I was in the hospital too.

I'm here because I haven't been taking care of my body. I collapsed in the ambulance and the medics in there evaluated me and told me I wasn't in serious condition but I was getting there. They also figured I was a smoker and thats also what caused it.

My 104 fever, plus being malnourished and dehydrated didnt help either. They were going to keep me here for 4 weeks, or until they deemed me fit to leave. Oh its so annoying... The only plus side I saw to this predicament was that my bed was right next to Narutos, also it was a private room so it was just the two of us.

For the first few days that we were at the hospital we slept. Naruto slept longer than me obviously, due to his injuries, they had to use more pain killers on him than me. So while I waited I read, wrote, typed or watched TV. I had a laptop brought from my house by my siblings, who were kind enough to stop by and see me. When Naruto finally woke up I was on the 437th reason why it sucks to be in the hospital. I dont want to tell you them because some of them are not meant for the minds of young ones. And I'm pretty sure you would tell someone, wouldnt you?

He opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times, surprised at not being able to move. I got out of my bed, which was right next to his, and stood next to him.

"Good afternoon, Naruto Uzumaki..." I whispered in my grating voice. He smiled brightly, but drowsily at me.

"Good afternoon Gaara! How are you?" He grinned up at me.

"Tired, feel weak, annoyed, etc."

"Ha!" He barked. "Same as always I see."

"You act as though its been years since we last saw each other..." I glared.

"Sorry. Its just rather difficult to concentrate on things right now," he grimaces. I sigh and sit down next to the chair by his bed. "Hows your fever doing?"

"Its gone mostly. I slept through it."

"Thats good. I'm glad your okay. How bad am I though?" He grimaces again. I stare at him for a minute.

"Your going to be here for a while," is all I say.

"Boy, you sure know how to sugar coat it." He grins at me as he says this. The grin itself didnt set right with me at all.

"Whats wrong?" His eyes widen slightly at my unexpected outburst.

"Um... nothing... every... things alright," he reassured me weakly. I stood up quickly and leaned over him in a menacing fashion.

"Tell. Me. What. Is. Wrong." I growl out. He whimpers and cringes away from me by trying to sink further into his mattress. It doesn't work.

"O-okay! Alright! Just sit down!" He pleaded with me. I comply and cross my arms over my chest. Naruto gains better control of himself before stuttering out, "I... I... I think I'm in love with Sasuke."

As soon as he said that to me I realized why I was so comfortable with the blond. Why my whole world was suddenly cracking at the seems. This really puts a whole new meaning to , you dont realize how much you cherish something until its gone.

(Narutos POV)

Gaara was pulling a scary face as he sat in his bed next to mine. His entire face was covered in dark shadows except for his narrowed aqua eyes. He has been like this for a couple of hours, since I confessed to him about Sasuke. Was he annoyed? Angry? Disappointed? I dont know...

I stared at him worriedly. He never acknowledged me,he didnt even look at me when I called his name. It was like Gaara was in his own little world, closed off from everything around him.

I was about to say his name for the hundredth time when the door slid open. "Naruto." Hakus quiet voice flitted to me as he stepped through the thresh hold.

"Ah, Haku!" I greeted.

"How are you?"

"The pain killers are still working so I'm okay. I would like to be able to move around though." I laughed at my own stupidity. Haku chuckled good naturdly.

"Same old Naruto." I finally got him to stop adding the '-kun'!! Hurray for me!! "It was frightening to hear what happened from Uchiha-san. Mr. Aburame got him to spill the beans, I'm not going to tell you how so dont ask! It was strange to hear Uchiha-san talk so much though." he smiled sweetly at me.

"Well as you can see, I'm alive and kicking!" I grinned at him.

"I wouldnt say kicking if I were you..." He warned.

"Hey hey! who's the injured one here?" he laughed.

"Gaara-san, how are you?" Haku asked, quickly changing the subject and direction. Gaaras eyes flickered to Haku and back to the edge of his bed.

"Fine..." was he said before lapsing back into silence. But clearly he wasn't okay.

"Naruto," Haku leaned close to me to whisper in my ear, " did you two have a fight?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"Why?" I whispered back.

"Because he seems to be having a relapse." I looked at him questioningly. "When you came he started to open up for the first time. Now hes all closed up in himself.

"Oh. Hes been like that for a couple of hours actually. Ever since I told him..." I look at my legs.

"What did you tell him?" I began a battle in my head on weither or not I should tell Haku my secret or not.

"I told him... that I'm in love with Sasuke Uchiha..." I mumble. Haku gasped uncharacteristically, leaning away from me as he did so.

"I see... I guess that will about do it." He straightened himself up. "Well I guess I will see you in a couple of days. I'll see you guys later." Haku left hurriedly and closed the door behind him.

"Gaara-"

"I'm going to the roof." He growled before getting up unsteadily and leaving the room. The room was just as silent and just as tense as if he were still here. I felt so alone at the moment that I felt like crying. I wanted to follow him, ask him what was wrong until he told me, but I couldnt. I was to banged up for one, and for two is because I know Gaara wants to be alone. I knew he yearned for solitude, some place away from me.

I couldnt understand why he was so angry. It didnt make any sense. The door slid open again. I was expecting it to be Gaara, or Itachi, not the person who was currently standing in the doorway looking a little more than pissed.

(Gaara's POV)

The breeze at the top of the 15 story building was cool and crisp, perfect for clearing a befuddled brain. The heat of the sun warming my feet as I leaned against the wall by the door that lead inside. I was alone up here, no person up here to pester me with questions that dont have a need to be answered, or that I dont have a desire to answer. I kept my mind away from the things that had happened earlier, knowing I would get angry and upset, and probably do something stupid that I will regret later.

The door opened with a loud band and I closed my eyes against the noise. I didnt bother to acknowledge whoever it was that desterbed my peaceful atmosphere with their presence, I didnt want to get into any trouble right now or get mad for no real reason. The wind blew harder.

A series of clanks and scrapes further disturbed the silence. I opened my eyes a crack to see who was making all the racket when long BLOND hair caught my eye. The person, whoever it was, was climbing atop the railing and trying to get over the fence when I grabbed the persons arm in an atepmt to stop the person from doing what the blond was trying to do. Her eyes connected with mine, startled light blue to calm deadly aqua.

"L-let go!" She demanded.

"No."

"Let m-me go!" She half yelled.

"No." I yanked back and she flew backwards, over the railing, and hard into the concrete.

"Ow! That hurt you jerk!"

"You would be hurting a whole lot worse if you had actually managed to jump from here, in fact you would be dead." I stated to her without batting an eye. Her gaze drifted to the railing, up the chain link fence, and back to me. Realization hit, about what she was doing or not succeeding, and tears welled up in her eyes. She picked herself up off the ground and runs back into the building, shutting the roof door behind her. I blink a few times but return to my sitting spot, all the while curious why she would try to kill herself. "I could really kill for a cigarette..." I muttered.

I stayed on the roof for a few hours more before making my way slowly back to my room, and Narutos. I was tired and didnt want to fall asleep on the roof. When I opened the door to the room a nurse was checking up on Naruto. She glanced at me startledly. Naruto, thankfully, was asleep.

"O-oh! G-Gaara-san, welcome back. Your just in time for a check up!" She smiled at me nervously. I couldnt really blame her for being skittish around me, I wasn't exactly in a good mood and it expressed on my face and now it wont go away (I saw my reflection in a window). I simply went over to my bed and slipped under the covers. She came over and started asking me questions about how I was feeling, then got to work on checking my pulse, respiratory, and heart rate. "Been walking around I see. Thats good, getting your exercise. Your fevers gone mostly, but I'm pretty sure you haven't eaten anything or drunk anything since you woke up. Wait right here and I will be back with an IV." She left hurriedly and came back just as quickly with an IV and some food in tow.

She hooked me up to it and put the food in my lap, a turkey sandwich some chicken noodle soup and orange juice. She also told me not to remove the IV or an alarm will sound. I shrugged at her and she left, satisfied she got through to me and I was listening. But trapping me in the silence again. I ate some of the food, it was horrible, set it aside and drifted off to sleep. Surprisingly it was a very deep sleep.

In my dreams Shukaku took on a human form and showed me what I had, what I could have, and what I have had.

**"Kid you are one lucky sonuvabitch yet you choose to fight and ignore the good things in life. I cant understand why you would fight it. Why cant you just deal with it?"**

_/Because no matter how hard I try, people will forget me. So I dont make the connection./_

**"So you want to be remembered?"**

_/Yes.../_

**"Your afraid of being forgotten but your going to just let it happen?"**

_/...Yes.../_

**"Why?"**

_/My mother forgot about me and left me here in this awful place. With that man that despises me./_

**"Poor guy."**

_/Who are you?/_

**"Huh? Why are you asking that?"**

_/Because your a lot more understanding than the Shukaku I know. So logically your not him./_

**"I'm him all right. I'm just the more... mature side of him, thats all."**

_/Where did he go?/_

**"You dont need him anymore Gaara. I'm the one thats on your side now, I'm going to be looking after you. But to make things easier, call me Shukaku as well."**

_/Where did he go?! Why are you calling me by name!?/_

**"Dont worry about it Gaara, its not important. What you need to focus on right now is waking up. He's calling you./**

_/No wait!/_

"Good-"

I shoot up and out of my bed, falling to the floor._ /Shukaku?!/_ I yell in my head.

**/What do you want kid?/** he asks calmly.

"GAARA!" I get up quickly and gaze into the worried eyes that are Narutos. I close my eyes so I dont have to look at him, to hurt for him, and start to walk for the door. I need fresh air. "Gaara! Wait!" But I was already out of the room., heading down the corridor to escape to the solitude of the roof.

I burst out into the cool crisp morning air gasping for breath. I couldnt believe how much the pain in my chest hurts. I took a seat where the wind was blowing the hardest.

_/Whats happening? Its not supposed to hurt like this./_

**/Your in love kid, and what your crush told you is breaking your heart./** Shukaku told me.

"Shut up!" I scream. Everything goes silent.

"Um... excuse me!" Someone squeaks out from somewhere behind me. I whirled around only to see the same girl from the other day, the one that tried to kill herself.

"You."

"Yuuiko Sakuya!" She grinned, unnerved. "I thought you would be up here again at some point today. I'm sorry about the other day and wanted to thank you for keeping me from going over the edge, literally."

"Your welcome, now go away..." I turn away from her.

"Aw, but! But! I want to stay with you!" I couldnt fathom her reasons for doing this. But...

"-sigh- Do what you want." I could feel her grin.

"How old are you mister?" She shimmies up by me and sits down.

"Old enough." She frowns.

"Why are you here then?"

" Because I can be." She glares at me.

"I meant the hospital."

"I dont know, maybe because thats where it was built." I shrug.

"I meant why are you at the hospital!"

"Oh..." I stare off into space for a little while before I answer. "I'm not sure really, I think its because I'm not healthy." She laughs.

"Same here. The doctors say I'm going to die when I get older." She grins.

"Did they tell you that?"

"No of course not! I heard it from my mom. She told me I am going to be here for the rest of my life, and thats not all that long. I dont want to be. I want to go and see the mountains." I stare at her for a minute before looking back up at the sky. "So why are you up here? On the roof I mean." I sigh again, this girl really was inquisitive.

"Someone in my room, the person I share it with, is in love with someone." I mumble as I stare at my feet.

"Are you in love with this person who is in love with someone else?" My automatically snap to hers, surprised that she asked the question, I didnt want to admit it out loud. I nodded after a few minutes of silence. "Why dont you tell your special person?" I shake my head vigorously. "Why not?" she pouts.

"Because he clearly belongs to someone else now," I growled. Her eyes widen but then she grins in a fashion that makes me think of Naruto and my heart thumps painfully."

"How do you know HE already belongs to this other person now? Did HE say anything about it?" she asks me, slightly smug. I cant tell why.

"No. I just have a feeling." Thats when something strange struck me. Yuuiko knew Naruto was a guy because I unintentionally slipped what gender he was. Oops.

"Just a feeling huh... Thats indefinite then. You still have a chance."

I pondered her words for a second before shaking my head negatively, I didnt believe her. She frowned at me and stuck out her tounge.

"You have no faith, do you?" one of her light blue eyes was blocked by her eye lid. I shrugged.

"Why should I have 'faith'?"

"Because it will make you feel better!"

"I purfer the truth." her frown deepened. It deepened even farther when she punched me in the arm. I stare at her, eyes wide with shock.

"Quit being so negative! No wonder your so unhealthy!" She yelled at me. And she continued to yell at me, though I heard none of it. The only thing that was running through my mind was, 'I am going soft, but this girl! She is dying, yet here she is preaching to me not to let myself down... this girl is very strong.' The next thing that shocked me was not what she did, but what I did.

I grabbed this Yuuiko girls arm and practically yanked her into my lap, into an embrace (GWAD I really was going weak!). I tucked her head under my chin as her small fragile fingers curled into the front of my hospital shirt, a hand placed on the back of her head. I could tell she was stunned because her angry little rant stopped mid sentence, everything was quiet except the birds chirping and the traffic down below.

"Your so strong..." I found myself whispering, only I realized it wasn't me who was saying this but the new Shukaku with his new personality and quirks. He was the one making my body do this.

"I-I'm not strong at all." She whispered back.

_/Shukaku what are you doing?!/_

**/Giving you some compassion./** I felt Shukaku grin.

"You are strong. You are so young yet so strong." I felt her blush. I was just about as embarrassed as this girl, though I couldnt express it as easily. I couldnt believe Shukaku was making me do this. I bet if someone came up here they would think we were a couple the way we were hugging.

Just then the roof door swung open revealing Lee in all his green spandexy glory. He spotted us and looked from me to the girl in my 'arms'. His already wide eyes widened even more and so did his grin.

"There you go Gaara!" He gave me the thumbs up. "Naruto, Sasuke, and I were wondering where you had run off to!" I stiffened visibly, finally gaining control. "But it looks like your busy, I will tell them so!" I bolted up, knocking Yuuiko off me, and tried to stop Lee as he left but I was to late. He was already gone.

So I stood there rather comically. Legs spread apart as if I was about to start running, arms out stretched as if I were going to catch something, eyes widened as if I had been spooked and lips parted as if I were going to yell something out. All of which I was hoping to do but now the chance has passed.

"So your names Gaara then?" the girl behind me asked. I slowly turned towards her. She was still on the ground but instead of being sprawled out she was sitting cross legged where I had only been sitting moments ago. She smiled at me timidly. "What are you going to do now Gaara? Are you going to let him go or are you going to confess?" Her smile brightened when I slowly turned to her completely and sat down next to her. No one was making me do this, I was doing it on my own. I was deciding to get closer to this child who so reminds me of Naruto.

"I'm going to let him lead his own life. I'm going to let him do his own thing for now. When I think the time is right, thats when I'll tell him."

"You can still be with him you know. You can stay with him, just not the way you want to be." I gazed at her with confused eyes. "You can still be his friend." She hinted. My smile was very small, the returning smile very large, two total contrasts. The two of us were very different but I guess the sayings true, polar opposites get along the most. She really was like Naruto, just a little more calm.

"Enough about that," I tell her, finally opening up to someone other than Naruto. "What do you do for fun?" She just grinned at me.

(Narutos POV)

I was laying there, and I was extremely nervous. Right now I was alone with my crush, Sasuke Uchiha, and he was helping wash my body off. I was glad that he was to preoccupied to see the deep blush on my face. Today I was going to tell him that I have a crush on him, I just didnt know when. And also Gaara was moping around here some where where I couldnt follow.

Lee came with Sasuke to visit me. Now he was gone too, looking for Gaara. The silence was not helping at all. I looked at Sasuke.

"S-so, Sasuke. How is your break going so far?"

"It's alright. It's quiet without you or Gaara around. Though Gaara doesn't talk much to begin with so I guess he doesn't count. Those two other girls were following me around for a little while though." Sasuke smiled at me slightly. I grinned back.

"Were they stalking you?"

"Naturally. Women cant resist my manly charms." I snorted.

"Sure. You have just about as much manly charms as a puppy," I said while crossing my arms over my chest and turning my head away from him. He glared at me half heartedly. I grinned at him from the side victoriously. This would have been the perfect time to confess but Lee burst in with a great flourish.

"I am back from my mission to locate our dear friend Gaara!" He exclaimed happily.

"Welcome back Lee. So where is he?" Lee's ever present smile widened even more and replied with flames in his eyes:

"Our beloved Gaara was on the roof of this very hospital clutching to him a blond haired blue eyed damsel. His expression held that of much youth!"

_/That must be the reason he has been leaving./ _I told myself in my head. But for some reason I had this sinking feeling about Gaara being with someone. I waved it off and continued to listen to what was going on.

"Gaara?" (Sasuke)

"Yes!" (Lee)

"You mean our Gaara? Cold hearted -I'm never going to love anyone- Gaara?!" (Me)

Lee shook his head yes vigorously. Sasukes expression was very comical, very unUchiha like.

"OH MY GOD!! The world is about to end!" I shrieked. Sasukes eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open, and his hands on either side of his head. He looked like he wanted to scream along with me, its just that he couldnt find his voice. Lee was staring at us both in confusion.

"Why this reaction?! You should be happy for our dear Gaara who is shining with the flames of youth!!" Lee explained to us.

"Gaara's not the type of person to ever fall in love with someone!" Sasuke blanched. Le was about to say something else but a flash of red and yellow went by the open door along with the sound of foot falls. This caught all of our attention and things fell silent once again. "W-was that Gaara just now?" Sasuke asked me.

"It seems so..."

**End Chapter**

**Again, sorry to everyone that I haven't put up another chapter! Lots of things have been going on. And if you have questions about them just ask. I'll see if I can post up another chapter soon! BYE!**


	8. Confessions

_**Welcome back! Sorry I havent updated in so long, the inspiration bug ran away. Anyways heres the 8**__**th**__** chapter! Enjoy!**_

(Gaara's POV)

Me and Yuiko had purposefully ran by my room in order to get to the Garden/Playground. The reason was to see how things were going in a non obvious way. She wanted to see what Naruto looked like anyways. She made a coment that made me blush… it was rather embarrassing.

Our reason for going to the Garden/Playground was because she wanted to show me a game that she liked to play. When we got out there a bunch of kids, about 5 or 6, came running towards Yuiko. They surrounded her and asked her if she would play with them.

"Alright, but we have to play my favorite game. Hide and seek!" She grinned. She pointed to a random child. "Sokusake-san, you will be it," She demanded. He grinned and nodded his head vigorously.

"How do you play?" I spoke up before they could begin. All of the children around her stopped what they were doing while Yuiko turned to face me. "I've never played this game before…" I explained.

"Oh. Well theres a base, that's the safe house, when the person who is 'it' counts to 20 they try to find you, and you have to take the base to be safe. But while you are not attached to the base he has every right to tag you and make you 'it'. While they are counting you have to find a hiding place." I nodded and the 'Sokusake' kid started to count while hiding his face in his arms on a tree.

Yuiko grabbed my hand and pulled me quietly to a tree a little ways away and silently started climbing up until she was hidden by the foliage. I stood there for a second before following up, just as silent.

Yuiko was sitting on a rather thick branch with space enough to fit both of us. She was near the top and a clear space so you could clearly see the hospital.

"This is 'fun' to you?" I asked her.

"Don't worry. The fun part is getting back to the base." She grinned, slightly reminding me of Naruto. Not long after she said this did we hear 'ready or not here I come!' sound out. Yuiko, just as silently as she had gone up, went back down. I followed her as quietly as I could.

Just before we were at the bottom she stopped. Some kids were giggling as they ran past and that was the que to get out of the tree apparently. As soon as our feet touched the ground Yuiko was alert. She looked left and right before taking off in the direction of the 'base'. She tagged it and stayed there. When she looked at me she gestured urgently for me to follow her example.

I looked left and right then started jogging over when I didn't see Sokusake. I heard her yell 'run!' at me when I got about half way there. I looked behind me and Sokusake was right behind me, about to tag me. I took off and barely missed him. When I tagged the tree I was breathing hard and adrenaline was pumping through my veins. Yuiko was giggling and I gave her a weak smile.

"Are you having fun yet?" She asked me. I nodded my head yes and she started to laugh all over again. I wanted to laugh with her but I restrained myself, it just wouldn't be me.

(Naruto's POV)

So it seemed Gaara was doing fine now, Sasuke told me from the window earlier that he was playing with a bunch of kids out in the Garden. So now I didn't have to worry about Gaara and worry more about when I was going to tell Sasuke that I liked him. I know I just figured out I liked him but I wanted to tell him anyways.

Sasuke was sitting in a chair beside my bed and we were talking quietly. That's when it hit me, before Sasuke left I could tell him how I felt. It would give him a chance to think about it or ignore it before he came to visit again! I grinned at my clever plan.

"What are you so happy about?" Sasuke smirked.

"I'll tell you later." I waved him off.

(Gaara's POV)

It was getting dark so we escorted the children back to their rooms. Then I decided to take Yuiko back to her own room before going to my own. She stopped me before I could leave.

"Remember Gaara, even if he's in love with someone else it doesn't change how you feel. Be his friend and be happy for him. Your chance will come to tell him how you feel." She smiled sweetly before disappearing through the door. I made my way back to the room. When I got there Sasuke was still there, talking to Naruto. It made me wonder if Naruto told Sasuke how he felt. I sat on my bed and lay down. I was tired after running around all day.

"I didn't know you liked kids." Sasuke spoke up.

"I don't." I grunted.

"Then why were you playing with them outside?" I turned away from him and Naruto.

"Because I was acomponing my friend. Yuiko."

"She your girlfriend?"

"No." He shut up and I could feel both of them stare at me for awhile. I assume they thought I was asleep because they both started talking quietly again. I stopped paying attention to them until Sasuke said he had to go.

"Wait! Sasuke! I want to tell you something!" My heart began to race. I had a feeling about what was about to happen.

"What is it Naruto? I have to get home soon or Itachi will come looking for me." There was a pause and some shuffling as Sasuke moved closer to Naruto.

"Ah… um… Sasuke… I think I… like you…" Sasuke was quiet for a long while.

"I… like you too Naruto." Sasuke shuffled forward again and then backed up.

There was the sound of glass shattering as Sasuke walked out, the kind of shattering that seemed to never be able to be put back together.

Oh wait… that's my heart…

**Chapter 8 End**

_**So… I guess you guys are pretty mad at me by now no? Like this is supposed to be a GaaraXNaruto fic and not a SasukeXNaruto fic right? Reviews would be appreciated but if you don't want to you don't have to! Love you all! And see you next time!**_


	9. Everything's Back To Normal?

**Chapter 9: Everything's Back To Normal?**

(Naruto's POV)

Everything was going great! I was with my boyfriend and my best friend of all time! I got out of the hospital sooner than everyone expected! Afterwards I had spent a few weeks at the Uchiha Mansion because Sasuke wanted to keep an eye on me.

Gaara's distance and anger seemed to have subsided for the moment. He's back with hanging out with me and seems like he was before the while hospital incident. Sometimes though, when he doesn't think I'm looking, I catch him gazing down at his hands with some kind of unfathomable sadness. Sometimes I ask him if he's alright, but he always replies with a nod and a smile.

For Valentines Day Sasuke had gotten me a bouquet of flowers. I thought it was really romantic, especially with the fact that he didn't care if everyone knew we were going out. Itachi teased us as much as he could. Gaara didn't say much about me and Sasuke being together and Haku seemed to be avoiding me for some reason.

Gaara went to the hospital on a regular basis to talk with that girl he had made friends with. Haku went with him sometimes; they seemed to be becoming real good friends. That makes me happy. Gaara's drug intake and cigarette smoking was going down, around me at least, and he seems to be sleeping better. He takes better care of himself to but he does come back with lots of unexplained bruises. I wonder if he's getting abused at home…

Theres only 4 and a half more months until the end of the school year, and I would be a happy teen if it came faster! The only thing that seems to be a downer on all this is that people are hiding something from me. They take one look at me and cringe. I tried asking why but no one will tell me, and I have an inkling it's a link to the girls that don't like me.

Sasuke and Gaara took care of my gang problem, hopefully for good so I don't have to deal with those kind of situations. But there just seems to be something missing from all of this…

(Gaara's POV)

I sat beside Yuiko's hospital bed, waiting for her to wake up. Her condition seems to have taken a turn for the worse and her health was decreasing everyday. They're new estimate on how long she has left is 2 months unless they can find a way to reverse her symptoms. Since I figured this out I've been here everyday, for at least 2 hours. Some of the time she's still asleep by the time I get there, and when she is I write in my poetry book or I talk with Haku. When she wakes up I get special permission to take her out into the garden to see some of the kids. Their all always happy to see her. They make sure not to hurt her, she's so weak.

Her hairs falling out, due to the kimo therapy. I'm sad to see her beautiful light golden locks go, but what can I do?

Haku's with me today. He bought some flowers for her, she smiled sweetly at him when he handed them to her.

"Gaara, how are things going with Naruto?" She thumbed one of the petals, not looking at me. I frowned, not wanting to have this conversation.

"Things are fine."

"Don't lie to me." I sighed. Haku eyed us nervously out of the corner of his eyes.

"They are the same as before. No change. He's happy with the Uchiha." I glared at her hands. Now its her turn to sigh.

"Yuiko-san, how do you like the flowers I got for you?" Haku smiled, trying to change the subject.

"They're lovely Haku," she smiled back. "What kind are they?"

"Red and white roses with some yellow butter cups."

"An interesting mix."

They bantered on for a few more minutes before we had to go. Haku drove me to his and Zabuzas apartment. It was surprisingly very homey and clean for two guys.

Zabuza was there, he was always there, waiting for me.

"Hey kid, you ready to go?" he asked me. I simply nodded before heading back out the door. Haku grabbed my arm.

"You should tell Naruto. He's worried about you." I shook his hand of and started walking again. Haku groaned in frustration and slammed the door shut behind Zabuza.

"I hope your not taking your anger out on Haku." Zabuza glared. "Keep it aimed at your aponents." I nodded and hopped into his jeep.

Zabuza was big on prize fighting. Especially the illegal kind. It was the only illegal thing Haku aloud him to do. I was Zabuzas fighter, and I haven't lost yet.

"Get ready kid, todays your big night."

"Hmm…." We got out of the jeep and went into the ware house. Tonight I would be fighting one of the bigger fighters.

"Break a leg, or two," Zabuza chuckled. I took out a cigarette and glared at him. This only made him laugh even more.

"Asshole…"

(Naruto POV)

I yawned, stretching to turn my alarm off. I lay in the warmth of my covers for a few more minutes before heading to the showers. I ate some toast on my way out, dressing before I left, and began my walk to school.

As I cut through an ally way I trip over someone. I got up and began to apologize but stopped when I saw a mess of blood red hair.

"Gaara?!" I gasped. His eyes fluttered but didn't open.

"Naruto…" He mumbled so quietly I wouldn't have thought he'd said anything if his lips hadn't moved.

Gaara was in a mess of a state. He was soaking wet from the rain during the night. His gray long sleeve shirt was ripped and covered in dirt and blood. One of his shoes was missing, and his bloody hands were clutching his sides. The night had been cold and he was visibly shaking.

"Gaara! Are you okay?" I yelled, shaking him slightly. His eyes fluttered again and this time they opened a little.

"Na-Naruto? W-wh-what are y-yuh-you do-doin-doing hu-hu-here?" He frowned.

"I could ask you the same thing! Your freezing!" I took my jacket off and draped it over him, trying to warm him up. "What happened to you?!"

"N-nu-nothing…"

"I'm going to call the hospital!" His hand shot out, as if to reach for me.

"No!" I froze at the fear in his eyes.

"What do you want me to do then?"

"Lu-leave m-mu-me hu-here." I shook my head vigorously no. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I left him there. I would feel completely horrible.

I grabbed his arms, making sure my jacket was still around him, and began to slowly drag him back to my apartment. When we got there I took him straight to my room, layed him out on the bed, and began to strip him of his dirty clothes.

"Whu-what are yu-you doing?!" He protested, trying in vain to keep his shirt and pants on.

"Trying to get you warm. Now let me do this or its straight to the bath!" That made him stop struggling. He knew that a hot bath would hurt more than what I was doing now.

When I had gotten his clothes off, except for his boxers, I had him wriggle under the covers. He was still shivering badly so I knew that leaving him there until I got out of school wouldn't help much. I sighed and went into the living room so I could use the phone.

I dialed the schools number and waited for the secretary to pick up. As I waited I began to cook some broth for Gaara.

_**//Hello? Konoho High School, Secretary speaking.//**_

"Hi! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I would like to file that I will not be at school today." There was the sound of rustling papers and a pen scribbling on a piece of paper.

_**//May I ask why?//**_

"I'm taking care of a sick friend."

_**//That's a valid excuse. Alright, I will inform your teachers right away!// **_There was the sound of more scribbling.

"Thank you, and have a nice day!"

_**//You too!//**_

I set the phone down to the side, concentrating on the broth I was boiling. As soon as it was at the right temperature I spooned it into a bowl and walked back to my room.

Gaara seemed to have made himself comfortable because he had shifted to the middle of the bed, and he was sifting through the book I had had on the side of the bed. It was a vampire book, the 6th one in the series. The book was called Cirque Du Freak.

"Gaara! I've brought you something to warm you up!" I smiled. He put the book back where it was as I came to sit on the side of the bed. He was still shaking but it had dulled some. I placed the bowl on his lap, letting him feed himself. He got about half way through the bowl before handing it back. I laughed and put it on the night stand. He scooted farther into the covers, trying to get warmer. An idea struck me just then.

I scooted over by his feet and grabbed them through the blankets. This startled him and he yanked his feet away. I grabbed them back and held them firmly in my lap. He finally relaxed enough, seeing that I wasn't going to do anything strange, for me to start to rub his feet gently through the covers. I only rubbed them for a couple of minutes, so as not to over heat them, and moved up to his legs. He began to blush, I could see his forehead over the blankets. I couldn't help but smirk and continue to move up. When I got close to his mid section he shot up and yelled.

"STOP!!" He glared, grabbing my hands and throwing them off him. His expression was savage, something that was never directed towards me directly. "Don't you have a boyfriend?!" he growled.

"Yeah… but I was just joking Gaara…"

"I know, that's why I-" He cut himself off, looking at his lap.

"I'm sorry. I just want to help." I whispered. He nodded and flopped over onto his side. I looked questioningly at him.

"Lay down." I smiled warmly at him, laying on top of the covers right on top of him.

"Is this okay?" I felt him nod and I smiled again. "Its been awhile since you last stayed over!" I commented.

"Hmm…" was all he said before he drifted off to sleep.

"Whats happening to you Gaara?" There was no reply. Of course there wasn't…

**End Chapter 9**


	10. Things Change

**Chapter 10: Things Change**

(Gaara's POV)

It was very embarrassing to be back at Naruto's apartment. The main reason being was that he was like a mother hen, bustling around me and making sure I was comfortable. What was strange enough was that I was in his and Kyuubis bed and not in the one I was normally in.

But this only added to the fuel of the fire that Naruto had created. The fire was growing and eating me up inside. It wouldn't stop no matter how hard I tried.

I sat there, in one of the few moments that Naruto wasn't there. He was in the other room talking to Iruka. I was happy with the moment of peace. I didn't have to see his sickly sweet smile.

_**//Well isn't this just nice…//**_

"Shukaku?" I whispered.

_**//The one and only.//**_ I heard him chuckle.

"Which one?"

_**//Which one do you think?//**_

"The nice one?"

_**//Bingo!// **_He cackled. This only made me blink.

"I thought you wouldn't talk to me unless it was something important!"

_**//But this is important Gaara! I mean the one you're in love with is taking care of you and its tearing your apart!// **_He grinned at me from the edge of my bed. This was the first time Shukaku had appeared anywhere outside of my dreams. It scared me slightly.

"What do you want with me?"

_**//To help. Remember, I'm on your side.// **_He Flipped his dirty blond hair over his shoulder, gold eyes gleaming at me.

"How do you plan on helping me demon?" I glared.

_**//That hurts,//**_ he tutted. _**//But I can understand your unease. I plan on giving you the best advice I can, while I can.//**_ He smiled sadly at me. This made me feel really strange.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_**//There is going to come a time when you will no longer need me. And that time, I feel, is going to be rather soon.//**_

"Why do you say that?" I felt extremely disappointed, and I shouldn't. I should be happy this demon was finally going away. That I could finally become normal.

_**//You'll see. Anyway, since your honey is with another man you might as well try and get over him.//**_ He shook his head. _**//What am I talking about? You're already trying to do that… Listen Gaara. You should stop going to that Prize Fighting Club thing. I realize you need to blow some steam but that's definitely not the way to go.//**_

"Noble words coming from someone who encouraged me to get into drugs and smoking…" I growled, he flinched.

_**//My evil self did that, not me.//**_

"Who ever heard of an imaginary person having split personalities? Oh that's right, me! Because who has an imaginary demon who has split personalities? Me! The person who created him!" I grumbled to myself.

_**//Gaara, you should quit all of the bad things in your life. It will only hurt you and create more problems for you. Doing all that will take you one step further into getting over Naruto.//**_

"I guess your right…"

_**//That's the spirit!//**_ He patted me on the foot.

(Naruto's POV)

"Hey Iruka-sensei!" I greeted the tan man cheerfully.

"Good evening Naruto. How are you?"

"Great! Gaara's over. He got into a little accident and I'm helping him recover." I sat him down in the living room.

"Well good. Glad he's getting some form of help these days." Things were silent for a moment before he spoke up again. "So Naruto. About you being with Sasuke, how did that come about?"

"I just told him how I felt." I grinned.

"Wow, years of girls asking him out and he finally says yes to the boy he tormented… wow…" I laughed.

"Yeah, big change huh?" he nodded. "The girls aren't too happy with it. They want to strangle me now." Iruka frowned.

"You should be carful then. When those girls mean business, they mean business," he told me seriously.

"Don't worry! I'll be carful, it's not like I would willingly alone with one of them! Much less a whole group of them!" I replied. He only smiled and patted my head affectionately.

"Good. You don't know how scared I was for you when I heard those gangsters were in town. And then when I got a phone call from the hospital! I almost died! You can't believe how scared I was…" he stared at his legs.

"Iruka-sensei… I'm sorry I worried you so much! I didn't mean to!" Iruka smiled at me.

"It's okay Naruto. As long as you're safe now none of that matters." He then proceeded to change the subject to a more pleasant topic, his boyfriend. The scarf wearing man was planning on taking Iruka on a cruise over the summer. How romantic! I was really happy for him, and slightly jealous. I wondered what Sasuke had planed for us over the summer.

(Gaara's POV)

Naruto was sitting in a chair beside my bed, just staring at me. It was slightly getting on my nerves.

"What?!" I finally snapped. He gasped before looking at the clock.

"Sorry, I spaced out…" 

What do you want?!"

"Nothing," he said a little too quickly.

"Then why are you staring at me?"

"For no reason…"

"Don't lie to me!!" This took him by surprise. I'd never unleashed my full anger out on him before. He sighed.

"What's going on with you Gaara?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. You know what I'm talking about!" He glared.

"No I don't."

"Find. Pretend you don't know what I'm talking about…" He was quiet for a while, staring at his hand. "We don't… talk anymore. You just sit there and then you leave with Haku or by yourself… And when you come back your hurt. Obviously you don't want me to ask so I don't… but it's painful to see you like this…" He sniffed. I couldn't help but sigh, this was so frustrating. He glared at me.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shukaku grin. He was trying to be encouraging. It wasn't helping. I sighed again and sat up.

"Naruto…" I paused.

"Gaara, please tell me. You can trust me with anything! I'm your friend!" He threw himself at the edge of the bed, clasping one of my hands in his own. I yanked our hands apart.

"That's exactly the problem! I don't-" I cut myself off, glaring off to the side. I could feel the hurt practically radiating off him. It pained me as well.

"So you don't want to be… friends with me?" He gulped.

"That's not what I said… I just don't want…" I groaned in frustration.

_**//Tell him Gaara. Tell him why you're no longer there for him… Tell him about The Prize…//**_ Shukaku cackled. He seemed a little more like his regular self.

"Naruto… I've been fighting… for money…" I continued to glare off to the side.

"What?" He stuttered.

"I fight others for money, like a dog fights to protect his master, only I'm fighting for something else." I grinned twistedly at Shukaku.

Naruto rushed to his feet, growling as he did so, se he was towering above me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Why in all hells name would you put yourself in danger like that?! I was worried sick that you were getting abused at home, but no! You're off prize fighting! Hurting yourself for some cheap ass paper! What's happened to you?! I thought you had gotten over your violent streak! I thought you were better! What happened?! Tell me!" He raved above me. I flinched as each word sunk in with a painful stab. I mumbled something under my breath. "What was that?!" He grabbed me by the shoulders, which seared with pain.

"Things change!" I gasped, "Things… change…" He let me go. "Things change…" I hunched into myself, placing my head on my knees. My phone began to ring. It was perfect timing really.

I moved to answer it, and Naruto moved to stop me. I shoved him aside and brought the receiver to my ear. I didn't bother to check the ID; I just didn't want to continue with this conversation with Naruto.

"Hello?" I whispered.

_**//Yes, hello. Is this Gaara no Sabuku?//**_ said a stranger of a voice, which was male.

"Yes who is this?"

_**//I'm really sorry to have to say this to you… but Yuuiko Sakuya passed away last night…//**_ Blood rushed to my head, I couldn't hear and my vision began to swim. Everything seemed to be coming at me all at once today. _**//Sir, are you alright?//**_

"H…How?" He seemed to understand.

_**//In her sleep. We would have informed you sooner but her mother said to wait for you to get home first.//**_

"Can I come see her?"

_**//I'm sure her mother would appreciate it.//**_

"Alright, thank you. Bye…"

_**//Good bye.//**_

_**-CLICK-**_

I was too stunned to move right away. Naruto didn't know what was going on, that poor innocent stupid blond.

"Gaara, who was that?"

"No one. Leave me alone…"

"Gaara?!" I ignored him.

I threw the blankets off of me and headed straight to the clothes I had discarded a couple of days earlier. I started to put them on, all the while Naruto continued to yell my name. I grabbed the rest of my stuff and headed to the door. Naruto, who got tired of me ignoring him, grabbed my arm and made me face him. He had a desperate look on his face.

"What's happening Gaara?!" I stared at him sadly.

"Things have changed, Naruto. Things have changed." I yanked away from him and ran out the door, not bothering to close it on the way out.

_**END CHAPTER 10**_


	11. Zombie

**Chapter 11: Zombie**

(Naruto's POV)

Sasuke sat across from me, an indifferent look about his face. "And he just left?" I nodded.

"I don't know where he went. He just had this really sad face, as if someone had died. He went to go see a woman, that's all I know…" I clutched the one thing Gaara forgot, the note pad I had given him when we first met.

Sasuke was silent for a minute. "Do you think he went to see that girl from the hospital?" That was a possibility. "Maybe something happened to her?" Sasuke hinted.

"Oh my god! That would explain everything! Poor Gaara…"

"Do you want to go to the hospital? He's there by now…" He trailed off. I had already gotten my coat, and was waiting by the door. "Okay…" He got up and we made our way out and to his car.

(Gaara's POV)

I clutched the cold hand in mine. They hadn't moved her, by her mothers' request. Her mother had been waiting for me, she was a sweet woman.

"Gaara…" She patted me on the shoulder.

"I know, it's just… So much energy, so much intelligence, so much life… gone so quickly… its unfair…" I shook my head, refusing to cry like I wanted to.

"I know, she was my daughter. But there's no use grieving for her. She wouldn't have wanted that. Besides, I have something to talk with you about. It's important." I looked up at her, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Alright." I gave the pail hand a final squeeze before standing up and following her out of the room. She took me to the other side of the building to a conference room. There were a few other people in the room, waiting for us. A man with long red hair tied up in a pony tail, wearing casual everyday clothing. Another man, fat and balding, clutching a suit case to his chest. And a woman, brown hair cropped short, wearing a gray pant suit.

"Gaara, this is my husband Yoji," She pointed to the man with the red hair.

"Good afternoon Gaara," the man stood up and shook my hand. "I've heard a lot about you from my wife." I nodded.

"This is our lawyer Shizuku Shiba," Ms. Sakuya pointed to the woman. She nodded. "And that man is your social worker." I blinked at this surprise. "We found him when we were looking for information on you."

"Why?!" I glared at all of them hatefully.

"Because of something we'll get to, now please sit down," Yoji stated, gesturing to a chair across from him. I slowly sat down, wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"What do you want with me?" I glared at the man in front of me. He laughed.

"So serious! Just like she told us!" He smiled charmingly before leaning forward. "So Gaara, what did you think of our daughter?"

"She was a very intelligent and bright child…" I answered slowly.

"Child he says! So youthful and already talking as if he were my age!" His smile turned into a grin. "Yuuiko spoke of you fondly, as if you were apart of this family. She told me you cam to see her everyday. Except for recently…"

"I'm sorry, I was recovering-" I started but he cut me off with a wave of his hand.

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. You were preoccupied. There was bound to be a day that you couldn't show up," his grin faltered slightly. "My daughter had a very high opinion of you, and I believe what my daughter said. You seem to care about her well enough. There shouldn't be a problem in honoring her last request." I blinked a few times.

"Her… last wish? What do you mean?"

"Before she died she wrote a letter for me. She asked one of the nurses to mail it. It arrived yesterday afternoon. In the letter she tells me what you two had talked about, who was with you, and a little bit about you yourself. She told me you've been raised by your sister and brother. That your father disappeared a long time ago." He sighed, his smile disappearing, and took his wife's hand.

"Can you get to the point please? I have a few million other things I have to do today!" The social worker spoke up rather rudely.

"Right, right. Sorry. Gaara, we've reviewed you, regardless of what it was, and we approve of you. We both agree to what your daughter proposed. We have all the paper work ready, all you and your guardians have to do is sign."

"What did Yuuiko want exactly?" I frowned.

"For you to be a part of our family. For you to take her place in the family business," His grin came back.

"What?" My eyes widened.

"Yuuiko, and ourselves of course, would like for you to be apart of our family, though you will have to leave with us if you do agree."

"Why?"

"Because you're going to take over our company." He said with a straight face.

"C-can I have time to think this over?"

"Sure! But we will have to give you a time limit. We are short on time, you see. You have until a few weeks after your school semester." He began to stand.

"What about Yuuiko?! What's going to happen to her?"

"The funeral will be soon. I'll send you an invitation. I bid you good day and hope to hear from you soon." They all stood, Yoji shaking my hand, Mrs. Sakuya kissing my forehead, Ms. Shiba shaking my hand, and the social worker staring at me warily. I was the only one left in the conference room.

"Holly shit…"

(Naruto's POV)

A few weeks had gone by since Gaara's freak out. He's been in a daze since then, as if there were no life left in him. He wouldn't even respond to my questions. Yuuiko's death must have really affected him. I asked Kankuro what was happening with him at home. The only thing he could tell me was that Gaara sat on the steps outside, smoking, as if waiting for someone. He's been sitting there no matter what the weather.

Hearing this made my heart ache in a strange way. Something happened to make him like this. Gaara had been quitting as far as I knew, and as the days passed I grew more anxious to know what was up with him.

After school I bumped into him on my way to work. Uncharacteristically, which was a lot lately, he smiled at me. Warm and inviting.

"Naruto…" He breathed, and it unsettled me. It was as if he was seeing me after a really long time.

"Hi, Gaara! What's up?" I smiled back.

"Are you heading to work?" He asked.

"Yeah, you going too?" He nodded and we began the walk towards the restaurant. Kyuubi was silent in my head, which was becoming the norm for her lately as well. She was letting me choose instead of follow for once.

The walk was quiet, as it usually was when Gaara's phone went off. He picked it up on the second ring.

"Hello?" There was deep concentration showing on his face. "Yes sir. I have already decided. I want to finish what I started though, first. It seems like the best thing I can do for right now." Who ever it was must have Gaara's total respect if he's willing to talk to him like that. "I'll try to get out early, but I don't know how successful I'll be. Finals will be starting soon so I'll have to study." He hummed an agreement to something the man said. "Alright. Take care, and tell Mrs. Sakuya that I said hello… bye." He put his phone back in his pocket, smiling strangely ahead of himself.

"Who was that Gaara?"

"Yuuiko's father."

That right there should have tipped me off about what was going to happen near in the future.

_**END CHAPTER 11**_


	12. A Heart Breaking

**Chapter 12: A Heart Breaking**

(Gaara's POV)

I was trying to be nicer to the people I cared about. I wanted to leave a lasting good impression about myself. I wanted to change.

I had told Yuuiko's father, soon to be my own adopted father, that I would leave with them. After the end of the year. I didn't see a problem with it, the end was almost here, and neither did they. They were happy to allow me the time to say good bye.

My siblings knew what was going on, and at my request didn't tell anybody. The same for the school. Soon, in just a few hours actually, I would no longer be a Sabuku but a Sakuya. This made me happy in a way that I would be able to keep some of my dear friend with me. It startles me that I write and think this way now. Yuuiko infected me with her kindness.

I was at work when I heard Naruto yell out. It wasn't like him, so I immediately knew that something was horribly wrong. I ran out into the main restaurant to see what had happened and who was involved.

When I got out there Naruto was sitting on the ground, clutching his head and crying. My immediate response was to check and see if someone had thrown something at him. No one was laughing, they all seemed pretty startled.

I got on my knees in front of Naruto, making sure I was close to him.

"Naruto? What's wrong?" I asked him in my serious voice, my old one.

"Gaara? When did you get here?" I knew this whole thing was Kyuubi related as that question rolled off his tongue. He only does that when he's talking to her. I took his hands in mine.

"That doesn't matter Naruto. Tell me, what happened?" My question started a while new round of tears and sobs.

"Oh, Gaara!" He threw his arms around me, which caused me to freeze where I was. I tentively wrapped an arm around him, using the other one to bring his year streaked face around to face me. Using my thumb and index finger I made him look up at me.

"Tell me!" I demanded, ignoring the stares from the patrons around us.

"S-she's gone Gaara!" He hiccupped. I stared at him blankly. "I can't hear her anymore! She's gone!" Then it clicked. Kyuubi wasn't there anymore. She was the person who knew Naruto the best. And now she was gone.

I tucked Narutos head under my chin, my hand to the back of his head. Naruto sobbed and clutched at my work shirt, staining it with his tears. We sat there for a couple of minutes more before I picked him up and took him to the locker room, all the while ignoring the stares from the customers.

How had it turned out this way? Just last month it was Naruto who was taking care of me. It was him comforting me. How had our rolls switched?

I left Naruto in the locker room with Ayame while I went to go and finish what was left of both of our shifts. As soon as I walked out I spotted the Uchiha leaving the restaurant, my brother in tow. This made me extremely angry. Why hadn't he gone to help his boyfriend? Why was he trying to escape? I ran after them.

Sasuke was getting into the drivers seat of his car when I caught up and dragged him out. As soon as his feet left the car I picked him up and threw him at the back door, pushing him with all my strength and holding him there with my body so he couldn't move or escape.

"What the hell is your problem Gaara?!" He yelled at me, struggling to get out of my grasp. Kankuro got out from the passenger side, staring at me in horror over the roof of the car.

"You lousy excuse for a boyfriend!" I spat at him. "Why didn't you go and help him when he needed it?!" I slammed him back into the car again, stopping his struggling. "You saw him sitting there crying! Why didn't you help him so you could be the hero of the hour, just like last time?! Tell me or I'll beat it out of you!" As emphasis for my words I punched him in the face.

Kankuro came over to this side of the car, and tried to drag me off.

"Gaara calm down! I'm sure Sasuke has a good excuse!" Kankuro yanked at my arm in vane. I kicked my brother in the stomach, sending him flying into the car next to us. I punched Sasuke in the gut this time, making him double over.

"Let's hear it then! Let's hear your excuse, Uchiha!" I yelled at his crumpled form. I punched him the back of the head, the Uchiha falling to the asphalt. He mumbled something. "You're going to have to speak up Uchiha!" I growled.

He glared up at me, his face already starting to swell and bruise. "Why the hell do you care about him so god damn much?!" He yelled at me. I kicked him in the stomache.

"Because he's my friend! I'm going to care about him. But you wouldn't know that would you?!" I kicked him in the stomache again. "Now tell me, what's your excuse for abandoning him in his time of need, Narutos boyfriend?" I squatted down next to him, keeping my guard up just in case, and lifted his head up by his hair.

"Sometimes you have to let the ones you care about deal with their own problems-" I punched him in the face again.

"Not good enough try again."

"Look! I can't step in for every trivial –GUCKT-!" I slammed my foot into his chest. Slowly I pressed my foot harder onto his chest, him trying to push it off.

"Trivial! Is that what you think it was?! You think him loosing the closest think to family he has is trivial?!" I stomped on his chest.

"I didn't know it was about Kyuubi!" He choked out in pain.

"Because you didn't bother to get off your lazy ass to go and find out!" I continued to stomp on his chest a few more times.

By this time our commotion had gathered quite a crowd and my brother had run off to most likely tell my boss what was up. Someone caught me by surprise by wrapping their arms around my middle and lifting me up. The person was obviously stronger than me so I didn't struggle or protest as he took me back into the restaurant via the back entrance. He took me straight into the boss's office and set me down in front of the desk.

"Gaara, your brother warned me that you were making a ruckus in front of the restaurant. You are a valuable worker but I'm afraid I'll have to fire you." I glared.

"Can I please take my two weeks notice?" The boss smiled.

"As long as this doesn't happen again within that time frame." I nodded and left the office. After getting my clothes on I took the still sobbing Naruto to his apartment.

(Narutos POV)

I stared blankly ahead of me, not seeing anything. I kept trying to find Kyuubi inside my head. Calling her name. But I couldn't find her, couldn't hear her voice.

I heard the front door slam shut, then my bedroom door open.

"Naruto?" Gaara called out. "I've brought you something to eat. It's Ramen." He set a steaming bowl on my lap. I gout out of my head and looked at Gaara, a small smile on my face.

"Thank you Gaara." I began to eat the noodles slowly.

"I'm glad you stopped crying." He told me with a smile of his own. I laughed.

"Was I scaring you?"

"A little," he chuckled. I smiled at him apologetically. A thought came to me, one that I hadn't had a couple of hours ago. "Where's Sasuke? I saw him at the restaurant with your brother." Ander immediately took hold of Gaara's features. It made me flinch; I knew Gaara had done something.

"What did you do Gaara?" He glare became heated, not directed at me.

"He deserved it!" He growled. "He saw you there and did nothing! Except try and escape and leave!" I flinched.

"Did he have an excuse?"

"Oh he had an excuse alright… 'Sometimes you have to let the ones you care about deal with their own problems'!" He mimicked Sasukes voice with a sneer. "'I don't have to interfere with every trivial matter', an excuse my ass!" He yelled, his head tilted to the side in anger. I felt a stab of pain in my chest as I stared at Gaara's anger directed at my Sasuke.

"Sasuke said that?" He nodded sharply. "Sasuke must have had a reason! Sasuke always does things for a reason!" I pleaded with him.

"How can you have so much blind faith in a man that doesn't give a shit about you?!" He yelled. Then utter sadness crossed his features, his non-existent eyebrows making his face look like it was pouting. "If… if only I had been the one-" he cut himself off, his head snapping to the side to stare out the window. He became angry again, glaring out the window. He stood abruptly.

"Wait! What were you going to say?!" I cried, grabbing his arm.

"It's not important. There's no use crying over the past, what's done is done. I'm going to stay the night, alright? You should get some rest. We have finals tomorrow." He yanked his arm away and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I tried to get some sleep. But I only succeeded in getting a few hours of restless shifting.

Gaaras expressions and his words haunted me. I played his words over and over in my head. Hen my alarm clock finally went off I got up and took a shower. Gaara had gotten up by the time I got out and had some breakfast made. Some eggs and bacon. It smelled good.

The table was set; he was serving the food with a smile.

"Good morning Gaara!" I greeted with a small smile of my own. He looked up, the picture of perfection. The sunlight had shown through the window at just that moment, illuminating his blood red hair. Today he was wearing a sky blue t-shirt, and tight black jeans. His skin shown with the sunlight, making the smile he shot at me bright. I immediately recorded the image so I could sketch it later.

"Good morning Naruto," he put the pan in the sink. He pulled out a chair, motioning me to sit down.

Was this what it felt like to be in a loving home? To be taken care of? I stopped that train of thought right there. Sasuke loved me, or at least cared about me deeply. Gaara was just being my friend.

I sat down, him on the opposite side of the table. He looked apologetic now.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I didn't mean to fight with you about last night. I wanted to comfort you, not hurt you." He frowned. "It's just… Uchihas actions made me very angry…"

I nodded, accepting the apology. "I understand. I probably would have done the same thing if our roles were switched." He smiled, I smiled back. I thought for a moment. "You know what Kyuubi said to me before she disappeared?" I stared at him curiously. He shrugged. "She told me that she hoped I made the right decisions in the future. That I realized the important things I had before they were gone… And I can't help but feel she was talking about you…" I tapped my chin, staring off to the side. If Gaara was affected by my words he didn't show it because by the time I glanced back at him his face was blank. "Your not going anywhere are you?" He smiled.

"Not unless I have to." He promised.

(Gaaras POV)

We walked to the school together, my heart aching the entire time. The new Shukaku was walking silently behind us. Shukaku would only be here for another couple of days. I felt bad for Naruto, his other left without a word of warning or good bye.

When we got to Mr. Aburames classroom Sasuke was sitting down brooding. He had bandages all over his face. I smirked at him, he glared. Naruto gasped, obviously concerned about Sasuke and ran up the steps, throwing his arms around Sasuke. I glowered, Sasuke smirked.

I made my way over to my desk and sat down. Haku stood before me with a smile on his face.

"Good morning Gaara! Are you ready for our exam? We're going to have different seats for the test. Kakashi- sensei is going to watch over us as we do this."

"What happened to Mr. Aburame?" I asked, surprise sharpening my tone.

"He had a heart attack last night and is at the hospital. Shinos upset but his dad wouldn't let him skip out on the test." Haku sighed.

"I feel bad for him. Last night was a night for bad occurrences." I mumbled.

"Why do you say that?" Haku came around and sat next to me.

"Last night Naruto had a freak out at work and Sasuke Uchiha was there. He didn't even help Naruto, he tried to leave. I caught him and did that," I gestured to Sasuke, "trying to get his reasoning out. He didn't want to help him because he thought Naruto should deal with his own problems…" I seethed. Haku patted my arm. "And he still cares for that sorry excuse for a-" I took a deep breath before my anger got out of hand. Haku continued to pat my arm.

"It's going to be okay Gaara. I have a feeling things are going to be alright." He paused. "You obviously don't want to get your paper o I'll get it for you, give you a chance to calm down." He got up and slowly made his way over to a jar at the desk, Kakashi obviously not there. Haku grabbed 2 pieces, thought, and then grabbed another as Shino walked in. He grabbed Shinos arm and brang him over to my table, sitting him down beside me and handing me a piece of paper. There was a large 3 printed in black ink. Shino had a large 2, while Haku shared my 3.

"Are you okay Shino?" I asked him, motioning to the classroom in general. He nodded, but there was something about him that made me uneasy. I swiped his sunglasses, holding them so I didn't smudge the lenses.

I was glad that Haku and I were blocking him from everyone's view. Shino was crying. He must really be worried about his father. He didn't even try to get his sun glasses back, he was so upset. I placed them back on him, wiping them off just in case.

"Shino!" Kiba barked, drawing attention to himself. He ran up the steps and jumped over Haku to get to Shino. He clutched Shino's shoulders and squeezed them comfortingly. "I'm really sorry that happened to your father. I'm sorry I wasn't there!" He frowned sadly at his boyfriend.

"It's not your fault…" Shino choked out quietly. I could feel eyes on us and I turned around to glare at all of those who dared stare on. To my surprise so did Haku. We mentally agreed that this was a private moment not for their eyes. I even glared at Naruto, who was fretting over Sasuke who was waving him off to talk with my brother. I gritted my teeth. Why did he care for a guy that didn't care about him in return?!

I turned back to Shino and Kiba. My non-existent eyebrows went up in surprise. Kiba was holding Shino, much the same way I had with Naruto the night before. The only difference was Kiba sitting on the desk in front of Shino, and Shino had his arms around Kibas waist. It made me wish that Naruto loved me like Kiba and Shino did. Or Haku and Zabuza. Or Neji and Lee. Or Kisame and Itachi. Or Shikimaru and Choji. Or Hinata and TenTen.

I turned away again, trying to give them more privacy. I felt Hakus hand on my shoulder, and I knew he understood what I was thinking about.

That's when our beloved teacher walked into the room, calling out for silence.

"I don't want any talkers, trouble makers, or ass kissers this morning. I haven't had my coffee this morning and I'm very irritable. Pair up, sit down, and shut the hell up!" We all shuffled around, all of us in the orders of our numbers.

Itachi didn't even get up, Kisame and Sasuke just changed seats, and Ino took Kankuros. Kankuro moved to my table, and me and Haku took Shikimarus while he himself sat with Lee at Neji's table. Neji and Shino sat behind the Uchiha brothers, while Tenten and Sakura took theirs. It basically looked like this:

Sasuke Uchiha/ Itachi Uchiha

Neji Hyuuga/ Shino Aburame

Gaara Sabuku( Sakuya)/ Haku

Naruto Uzumaki/ Choji

Rock- Lee/ Shikimaru Nara

Ino Yamanaka / Kisame

Tenten/ Sakura Haruno

Hinata Hyuuga/ Kiba

Kankuro

Since we all could tell Kakashi was serious, we too were serious. He slammed our individual tests onto our desks and marched back to the front of the room. He wrote on the board that this was to be done in silence before, during, and after.

"Your names are already on them, you can't cheat because they are made for the specific person, and when your done just raise your hand. Begin!"

I could tell when Shikimaru was done because I heard a nice solid CLUNCK as his head hit the desk.

I was finished with my own test quicker than I thought I would. It was easy.

Kakashi came up to my desk, picked up my test and dropped a piece of paper in front of me. It was a summons to the principals' office. I just couldn't catch a break. I picked up all my stuff and headed out the door, waving to Haku as I went.

I reached the principals office in less than 5 minutes, sitting down in front of his desk. "It would seem that you are going to be leaving us by the end of this semester." He began. So they already knew about that…

"Yes, sir."

"To go live in America?"

"Yes, sir."

"To stay with a rich family who's willing to take care of you?"

"Yes, sir." He laughed heartily.

"Well then! I wish you the best of luck! I will be sad to see you go my young friend!" He stood up and patted me on the shoulder. "I understand it's the family that your friend belonged to, the one who died." I frowned.

"What's this about?"

"I'm getting to that. You're a great student, hardly ever been absent, except when needed. You've quit your drug abuse, though you still smoke. You live in a small house with two siblings. Your father walked out on you. You're angry-"

"Get to the point!" I yelled, interrupting him.

"- and unrefined," he continued as if I hadn't spoken. "You get into fights; you don't get along well with others… all in all you're a bad person."

"If you just called me up here to insult me and criticize me then I'm leaving."

"Hold on, hold on. I'm just listing your faults, the ones you need to work on. To be a successful business man you must be fair, and the people must respect you as an individual. Without respect no one will be loyal to you. Loyalty is everything. Lots of things will come at you to attack you, and you need people who are willing to stand by you as it happens." Again he patted me on my shoulder. "While you're in America you must work on yourself more than anything. When you think your ready I want you to come back and visit me."

I blinked in surprise at his words. "Alright. I will work to better myself."

"Good. Until then I don't want to see your face. Now get out of my office." Principle turned around and opened the door for me, not looking in my direction.

I made my way out of his office, deciding to go to the library instead of back to class. Since I didn't really know much about the Sakuya family and their company I was going to find out now.

I choked on my air when I realized exactly who they were. The Sakuya family had been around for a really long time. They owned, maintained, and ran hospitals all around the world. They also distributed many medical supplies to those places that needed them.

'So they wanted me to become the head of all this?'

_**//Isn't it great? It makes sense doesn't it?//**_ Shukaku grinned from next to me.

"It does, but do you think I can do it?" I whispered.

_**//Yeah, of course I do! Your not going to back out now are you? After you already told them yes?//**_

"No, I just don't want to disappoint them. What if I mess up?"

_**//Then you'll learn from your mistakes. Don't you want to help those people who are like Yuuiko? Don't you want to stop that from happening again?//**_

"Yeah…"

_**//Then use that as your motivation!//**_

"I don't know if I should tell you this, but I'm actually going to be sad when you leave." Shukaku smiled affectionately at me.

_**//You'll be fine. Don't make me want to stick around. Remember, you only have a few more weeks here. And a few more days with me.//**_

"This almost makes me want to take you somewhere, but that would be just weird."

Shukaku laughed. _**//Yeah, they'll think you're crazier than you already are…//**_ I chuckled.

"Where are you going to go?"

_**//Us imaginary friends take the shape of anything crazy children think up. I'll go try to help those tormented children.//**_

"To follow My Shukaku?"

_**//Yeah. He's already latched onto someone else. I have to go find him. Maybe I'll get there in time, unlike with you.//**_

"You do what you must…" And with that I promptly ignored Shukaku and any other distractions.

**END CHAPTER**


	13. A Betrayal

**Chapter 13: A Betrayal**

(Narutos POV)

After 4 days of testing and 1 day of free time school was over with and it was summer vacation! I had free time! I could do anything I want!

Of course I was going to surprise Sasuke at his place later on today, but I had work. Gaara was with me, helping bus tables. Everyone else, except a few others, were off on vacation. I sighed in exasperation. Maybe Sasuke will take me somewhere for vacation?

"Naruto, stop day dreaming. You're spilling Ramen on one of the customers." I focused on what was going on around me. I was indeed pouring Ramen on a customer, and Gaara was already there with a towel.

I screeched, impulsively tossing the bowel up into the air, much like I had with my sketch book at the beginning of the school year. It landed on my head. The broth was hot, hot, HOT!

Gaara handed the customer the towel and took me back into the employee locker room. He sat me down on a bench and removed the bowel from atop my head. I began to cry. He plucked the noodles from my hair and clothes. Producing another towel out of no where, he whipped my face.

I sobbed quietly, staring into his sad face. I seemed to be crying a lot lately.

"It's okay Naruto."

"Sorry Gaara." I spluttered.

"Shh, its okay. Just wash up and everything will be fine. I bet it hurts so use cold water, okay?" He placed his hands on either side of my head and kissed away my tears. He wouldn't stop kissing my eyes until I stopped sobbing. "Go wash up," he told me again. "I'll apologize to him and get him a free bowel of Ramen."

"Alright." He smiled and got up, rubbing the top of my head as he went out. I waited a moment before peaking out the door.

Gaara was already standing in front of the man and setting down a fresh bowel of Ramen. He bowed to him and said something. The guy laughed and nodded his head. I sighed and made my way to the shower.

I wish I could be as suave and smooth as Gaara. He always takes things in stride lately. I remember back to when he wasn't quite like that, which wasn't that long ago. What changed all of that?

"Maybe I should take up smoking?" I asked aloud. I laughed at myself. How did we switch rolls all of a sudden? When did he become so sure of himself, so calm and nice? When did I become so weak and dependant? Just last month it was me trying to comfort him, now it was him doing that for me.

I showered, re-clothed myself, and got back to work. It was no use getting depressed over something like that. I rather enjoy Gaaras attentions. I loved seeing him smile, his anger disappear. It made me happy that he was getting over a lot of things, and excepting a bright new future.

Thinking of the future turned my attention back on what Sasuke might do for vacation. Maybe we could go to the beach? Have a romantic dinner while watching the sun set? The image sent shivers of pleasure down my spine.

I was fast in everything I did, my face pink from the hot broth of the Ramen, not missing a beat as I seated customers, took their orders, and brought their food. I got big tips.

We closed up and I waved good bye to Gaara, not heading back to my apartment. Gaara had already lit a cigarette by the time he waved back, going home tonight.

I made my way through the familiar streets. The large house on the out skirts of town prominent in my mind. I made it there in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

I wearily knocked on the door, knowing full well that Itachi was downstairs at the time. He opened the door with a crazy smile.

"Good evening Naru-chan. It's a nice surprise seeing you here. He's in his room." Something about his words seemed like he was pitying me.

"Hi Itachi." I nodded and stepped over the thresh hold, taking off my shoes as I went. I went up the dark flight of stairs, already knowing the way, having stayed here for a while.

When I reached the top step faint noises came from down the hall. I quieted my approach, curious as to what was going on.

I clutched Sasukes early birthday present to my chest, spooked. In the back was a book on karate, the one he's been looking for.

The noises turned out to be groaning and creaking. Was Sasuke sick? I tip toed to just outside the door. I heard panting and groaning. The bed was what was making the creaking noise. Was he having a night mare?

"Sasuke!" Someone gasped out. That was strange. That sounded like a mans voice. "Sasuke!" He gasped out again, a strangled groan following soon after. What was going on?!

The door was almost closed but a shirt stopped it, just coming short. I peaked in. The room was dark, as usual, but my eyes were already adjusted to it. One the bed two figures were huddled up on it, one on top of the other. I gasped silently, realizing what was going on. Whoever Sasuke was on top of arched his back, gasping out Sasukes name again. My heart twinged. The both of them shuddered and collapsed onto the bed, panting heavily.

"That was amazing Sasuke."

"You don't have to voice it out every time we do this you know." Sasuke teased.

"Be quiet. Sometimes it helps a persons self a steam, though your ego is pretty much huge already." Sasuke smacked him. "What? It's true!" He laughed. Something about this guy's voice rang familiar.

"I'm going to take a shower." Sasuke sat up.

"Wait! Sasuke, I want to talk to you about something!"

"What now?"

"When are you going to tell Naruto about us? I like him, he's cool, and I feel bad about lying to him." The man sulked.

"I don't know. Sometime soon. I feel like a criminal, Kankuro, hurting him again like this." My chest burned with sudden indescribable pain. I swung around, my head smacking the wall. "Itachi, didn't I tell you not to bother me when the doors shut?!" I held my breath. The rustling of clothes told me that someone was moving around.

'_I should get up!'_ I yelled at myself, but something kept me in place. Some force locked my muscles tight. Foot steps headed toward the door. He yanked it open.

"Itachi- where?" He stuck his head out, looking around until he spotted me huddled up against the wall. Obsidian met blue. I gulped.

(Gaaras POV)

My feet dangled into the river, the current pushing my feet in the direction it wanted. I breathed in the lovely smell of fresh air. I stared up at the twinkling stars in the sky. I wondered if there were other planets in the universe like earth. There was always the possibility.

The sound of snapping twigs broke through the silence. I tipped my head back, Toj's for upside down came into view. "Hey kid." He greeted. I bobbed my head in greeting and sat forward again. "How are things?"

"Going good. We should be able to leave next week."

"Good, good! Just in time for me to go to my meeting in America." He sat down next to me with a smile, one that sort of reminded me of Naruto. He patted me on the shoulder. "I'm happy you're my son now! I don't know what I would have done without you or my wife."

"Yeah. I'm just happy my other siblings understand my need to leave."

"I bet it's hard." He nodded sagely.

"What is?"

"Being so nice to everyone you've hated."

"Oh, yeah it is kind of hard. I don't usually smile this much so my face kind of hurts." I rubbed my cheek. He laughed loudly.

"I can tell that's a pain for you."

"And being nice period gives me a head ache. I've never had to say kind words or help someone!"

"Its all steps to helping you along with our line of work. We don't allow you to glare or say unkind things to our patients. It doesn't help with their healing process. You must learn to have them like you. Once you get to the point where you don't have to force it, then it's all smooth sailing from there." He leaned forward to have his fingers glide through the water. "I'm an old man, even though I don't look like it. I need someone I can trust to take over for me."

"You shouldn't trust me then, yet."

"That's true, that's true. But I have faith in you." He smiled warmly at me. I smirked back. A loud tinkling nose broke the brief silence, informing me that someone was calling me. I checked the number, seeing it was Naruto, and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

(Narutos POV)

He stared down at me with a blank expression on his face, and then it slowly turned into disbelief. The pain in my chest swelled to unbearable, bringing tears to my eyes. It felt like a golf ball was wedged into my throat, making it hard to talk or breath.

"N-Naruto?" He blinked. That was the majik word to get me to move apparently. As soon as he said my name I scrambled for the stair case. He yelled my name after me and cursed. I practically fell down the stairs, Itachi catching me before I broke my neck.

"Where would you like to go?" He asked me quietly. We heard a bunch of yelling and banging upstairs.

"Away." I finally choked out. He nodded and pushed me to the garage, grabbing my shoes as he went. He led me to a slick black Mercedes, pushing me into the passenger seat. As he was getting into the driver's seat and turning the car on the garage door glided open. He backed out, swerving onto the street, the wheels not even screeching. We started to drive forward and Sasuke burst out of the house, running after the car. Itachi accelerated. We zoomed around the corner and into the night. All the while I'd been trying to keep myself from crying.

Itachi brought out his cell and started to dial a number. "Kisame. I'm driving to the beach. Meet me there." And he hung up. That seemed like a strange transaction and it helped to distract me away from my own thoughts. He then reached into his pocket and threw a tinkling object into the back seat. I stared at him questioningly. "His keys, so he can't follow us." I nodded my head in understanding. Itachi, trying to make me feel better, began to tell jokes. He wasn't very good at it but I appreciated the effort. "You should probably call someone to tell them where you're going to be."

"There's no one I really want to-" A sudden urge hit me. It wasn't very strong, just something that I wanted. I flipped open my cell and dialed his number. He picked it up on the second ring.

_**//Hello?//**_ His gravely voice met my ears, comforting me.

"Gaara?" I squeaked.

_**//Yes Naruto, it's me. What's wrong?//**_

"Ah, um… I'm going away somewhere…"

"The beach to the North, Sanjubi." Itachi informed me.

"Sanjubi beach, to the North."

_**//What's wrong?//**_ He repeated.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now… But I want to see you Gaara, that's all I want right now!" I pleaded. "I'll call you when I know exactly where we are."

_**//Alright. I'll head out as soon as I can.//**_

"Thank you…"

_**//No problem…//**_

**---CLICK---**

"Seems like you two really are close." Itachi mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you before going up. I didn't want there to be a whole lot of noise. I wanted you to see with your own eyes, what was going on." Sudden anger boiled within me.

"You could have said something!" I yelled.

"What would I have said? 'Oh, your boyfriends cheating on you with your best friends' brother?'" He stared at me. My anger disappeared.

"I don't know…"

"Then there's nothing I could have said. The only thing that could be done was what already happened." I could kind of see the logic, but I was still slightly angry at him. "It's getting late, you should go to sleep. We have quite a drive on our hands."

"Do you want to switch at some point in time?"

"No. I know where we're going." He reached over and pulled a lever, his eyes leaving the road. The car never even swerved. With his eyes back to the road my chair began to lean back. "There's a blanket by your head, if you want to cover up."

"Alright."

"Do you like music playing while you sleep? Alternative?" He asked. I nodded and music started to play. I snuggled into the blanket and began to drift. The images came back to my head, one of Sasuke and Kankuro together. Then the happy memories we shared. I finally let the tears fall, I began to cry.

**End of Chapter**


	14. Comfort

**Chapter 14: Comfort**

(Gaaras POV)

The call came at 5 in the morning. Naruto had just woken up as it seemed. I was already in my fathers car, him having offered to drive me, and wide awake. They had just arrived. That means it would be noon by the time we get there, plus another couple of hours to fin the Uchiha summer home. I sighed at his tired tones.

"Did you get good sleep?"

_**//Not really… I kept waking up…//**_ he croaked.

"Alright, go back to sleep, or at least try to. Drink some herbal tea, it should help."

_**//Okay. See you.//**_

**---CLICK---**

"Is everything alright?" Toji spoke up.

"Yeah. Do you want to switch off now? You look tired. I don't feel like dying in case you fall asleep at the wheel." I joked, he laughed.

"Lets stop off and get some breakfast, then we can switch." He turned right into the parking lot of a diner. It was called IHOP. We had some pancakes, which were really good. In about 45 minutes we were on our way again. I was driving, not with the speed limit. Toji went 5 under the speed limit because he didn't want to get pulled over. Which was understandable because he didn't have someone to tell him if cops were near by, like I did.

_**//Slow down at the next light. There's a cop hiding behind the convenience store.//**_ I nodded and noted what time it was; 7:42. When the light turned green I accelerated enough so it was only a few knots over the speed limit. As soon as we were a good distance away I want from 45 to 80.

The car was built for speed, a great car. It had 400 horse power, heated seats, an automatic revolving roof, an awesome stereo, and a built in GPS system. Which gave me an awesome idea.

I played with the GPS for a little bit, seeing how it worked and what features it had. I typed in the Uchiha summer home address and watched as an arrow pointed me in the right direction, following a purple line. I had to smile at such an ingenious invention.

"You should probably keep your eyes on the road, son." Toji spoke up out of no where. I looked into the rear view, his face popping up with a smile.

"That's no fun. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"It's hard to sleep when you're inspecting my car." He grinned.

"Alright, I'll stop."

"Haha! That's alright. Its kind of fun seeing you entertain yourself."

"Quiet you and go back to sleep." He laughed and flopped back down, I returned my eyes to the road.

"So, what do you think? Are you enjoying being my son?" He asked quietly.

"I'm better off this way. You're not a bad person so I see no problem with trying to get along. It's not that hard to anyway." I shrugged. I could tell he was pleased with my answer.

"Its too quiet, put on some music." He complained.

"Okay… Dad." Just to mess with him. I turned on the radio to channel 104.3. "No judging me…" I listened as 'Shakira Shakira' began to play from the speakers. All I heard from him was a chuckle and then silence.

I started to speed again, glancing at the arrow to see if I was heading in the right direction.

We rolled into Sanjubi about 11. Perfect time to have lunch. I pulled into Joes Crab Shack, the best sea food restaurant in the world. I leaned over the seat to shake my father.

"Dad! Wake up! We're going to eat real fast!" He groaned. "Get your ass up or I'll drag you out of this car." He frowned up at me.

"I was having the loveliest dream too… My son was actually nice to me." He chuckled as I smiled. He sighed and sat up.

"Sorry but I'm hungry." He only smiled in understanding. We walked in and got seats outside, the weather was just that nice. "Are you all refreshed now?"

"Not nearly as I'd like to be but it'll have to do. I'm just happy we're finally here." This guy continued to smile. "I'm worried about your friend. He seemed pretty upset."

"Yeah… This is what I'm here for. To help his as long as I'm able." I stared sadly at my shrimp.

"You're going to miss him." It wasn't a question.

"He's my best friend… the first person I've ever really cared about…"

"I understand how you feel." I glared at him skeptically. "I do have a wife you know." He laughed. The man was just too cheerful. Too much like Naruto…

We paid for the food and left, taking the next 15 minutes to find the Uchiha summer home. I got out of the car and leaned against its solid frame. I pulled out my phone and dialed Narutos cell. He answered right away.

_**//Gaara? Where are you?//**_ He pleaded.

"I'm here." There was a loud clunk as he dropped the phone. A face appeared in one of the upstairs windows. It was him, haggard and depressed, though he split into a grin when he saw me. I waved and closed the phone, putting it back into my pocket. He disappeared from the window and came running out the front door, Itachi and Kisame behind him, though walking.

He was about to begin to cry. He was positively distraught. I took a few steps away from the car, opening my arms for him. He jumped into my arms, the contact felt good. I squeezed him to my chest and buried my face in his hair.

"Naruto…" I whispered.

"Gaara…" He choked out.

(Narutos POV)

As soon as I had entered the pail arms I felt safe and warm. The pressure Gaara was squeezing me with felt refreshing. I wanted to be held there forever. I felt tears come to my eyes again, they had been dry for hours now.

I felt the strength in my legs give out. Gaara held me up effortlessly. He lifted me up bridal style, holding me close, even though I was bigger than him.

"Where do I put him?" His voice rumbled in my ear.

"Just take him to the living room." Itachi lead the way.

"Umm… Gaara… What should I do?" A nervous voice sounded out from behind the car. I glanced behind us and a man that surprisingly looked almost like Gaara stood there. He smiled tentively. A relative?

"You could always stay in the car?" Gaara offered playfully. I blinked. The man scoffed. "Come on, follow." The man laughed and the crunching of gravel told me he was following.

Gaara set me down on the couch, he moved away but I grabbed his arm. He smiled and sat on the floor in front of me.

Itachi sat on one of the comfy chairs, Kisame behind him. The red haired man sat on the far end of the couch.

"Gaara, I have given Naruto and yourself permission to stay here for a little while, until you need to leave. I have to go home, there's only so long before he requires a car, and he is my little brother. I don't approve of what he's done but I can't condemn him for it either. I'll leave my car here so you can have some transportation. I'll be going now, come Kisame." Itachi stood, and nodded to us. Before Itachi left he turned to me one more time. "Naru-chan, I'm sorry. I hope we can still hang out." And he was gone. I flinched.

"Gaara…" the man spoke up again. He had a smile on his face but was moving his hands around nervously.

"Yes?"

"I'll have to go as well. There's much I have to do."

"That's fine. I'll see you soon." The man nodded and left as well. I pulled on Gaaras red locks, marveling at how soft it was. "Naruto… what's going-"

"Who was that guy?" I interrupted. He sighed.

"Who?"

"The man with you, the one who gave you a ride."

"Hmm…" He squared his shoulders. "He's my father." To say I was speechless was an understatement.

"That bastard! He thinks he can just show up out of no where and suddenly decide he wants to be a father?! He wants to try and make amends after 10 whole years?! And you forgave him?! After all the things he's done to you?! The abuse, both mental and physical!! Why Gaara?!" He was shaking, was something wrong? The shaking turned to chuckles, then full out laughter. I became extremely shocked.

"Naruto!" He gasped. "That man isn't my biological father," he turned to face me, something in his eyes imploring me to understand the message. I only blinked in confusion. He sighed. "He's my adopted father. His name is Toji Sakuya." I understood immediately. Yuuiko's father, that's why they were so close! They had been siblings! Something lifted from me and I felt a sense of relief wash over me.

"That makes sense."

"Naruto. What's wrong? What did Sasuke do?" I flinched at the sound of his name. He took my hand. "You have to tell me what he did so that I can make it better." Stinging came to my eyes and I closed them. "You can't run away from your problems, you have to face them, even just a little."

"But Gaara!" He kissed my forehead.

"I want to help you Naruto, that's why I'm here." I nodded after a while and opened my mouth.

(Gaara's POV)

I was livid with anger, Narutos words playing out in my head over and over. The Uchiha was lucky I was so far away, otherwise I would have found him and strangled him, then my brother… He was partly to blame for this as well… Both of them better steer clear of me…

Naruto was currently playing in the ocean, a blissful smile on his face. The guy could stay here forever if he wanted to. His muscular form expertly moved through the waves, his surf board gliding under him. I watched him as he topped the crest of the wave and stood, beginning to surf. He looked great for someone who was depressed.

The beach was packed with people. Many of them were surfing.

The scrunching of sand told me someone was walking my way. I turned slightly, seeing a woman there. She was wearing a pure white bikini, a tan, and bleach blond hair. She smiled at me and sat down.

"Hey there handsome. Why are you sitting here all by yourself lookin' all gloomy? You look like you could use some company." She winked. I rolled my eyes.

"Go away. I don't need a flirting bimbo sitting next to me when my friend shows up." I returned my eyes to Naruto, my thoughts turning dark. Shukaku was trying to keep me calm.

"Bimbo?! Excuse me, but I'm trying to help. I didn't have to come and sit by some creepy freak!" She yelled at me. "At least you should be grateful!"

"I didn't ask you to, so why should I be grateful?!" I growled, turning to her again. "If you want someone to fawn all over you go and join those ass holes you call friends." She scoffed, then a coy smile crossed her face.

"Aw, you're shy aren't you?" She cooed. This just made me even angrier. "I bet you really like me, you're just afraid." She scooted closer to me, I tensed up as her hands touched my arm. "You're so tense!" She gasped. "Let me fix that." She got on her knees behind me, majikally a bottle of lotion appeared in her ands, and she began to rub my shoulders. In truth it actually hurt, she wasn't very good. This only served to anger me more. I clenched my eyes shut, my teeth grinding against one another. In my head I was screaming for this whore to leave me alone. I started getting ready to grab the bitch by the arm and beat her. I wanted to spill her blood on the sands. I loosened my arms from around my knees. I began to turn and-

"Gaara?" I looked up. There stood Naruto in all his wet glory, a frown on his face. "Is she bothering you?" I nodded at the skank. All at once my anger toward her dissipated, the other dark thoughts locked itself away from Naruto's brightness.

"No, I'm not bothering him. I was just giving him a massage." She smiled.

"It doesn't look like he's enjoying it." Naruto placed his surf board next to me.

"He never said anything."

"He's just nice like that." He smiled down at me.

"Apparently not completely. He called me a bimbo earlier." She frowned down at me, the mixture was strange. She stood up and latched onto Naruto, I seethed. He just stared at her like she were some alien.

"My friend here's just a bit angry."

"So you're this little freaks friend?" She grinned. "Well let's ditch him and go to my hotel? What do you say?" That wiped out any of his friendly intentions. He glared down at her so sharply she flinched. "Is something wrong?"

"You just insulted my best friend. He's not a freak, he's a human being. What gives you the right to judge someone? You may be beautiful on the outside, but you're an ugly bitch on the inside." He unattached himself from the skank and held out his hand to me. "Come on Gaara, I'll teach you how to surf." He grinned. I smiled at him, taking his hand and picking up the surf board.

"Okay…" We walked passed her into the water. She was speechless.

(Narutos POV)

A dark feeling passed through me as I watched the tanned woman begin to massage Gaara. He seethed at her touch. I knew he planned to do something awful to her if she didn't stop soon. He looked like he did when I first met him, murderous and dangerous. I kind of chuckled. It was adorable the way he looked. It was a bad thought, but I would sketch it at some point in time.

**End Chapter**


	15. Home

**Chapter 15: Home**

(Narutos POV)

I woke up groggy, wondering where I was. I opened one eye and saw the Uchiha crest. I flinched at the memory, still fresh in my mind. Day 5.

After day 3 a sadness had overtaken Gaara, something unexplained. He often went to the beach to think or sit in the water, sometimes I followed. Someone knocked on my door.

"Come in!" I called, turning over in the bed to lay on my back. Gaara walked in, turning on the light. My eyes stung in the bright light.

"Get up Naruto, I have to talk to you." He walked out, leaving the door open and light on. I groaned and followed, deciding not to bother getting a shirt on.

He led me to the table, which was filled with breakfast, and pulled a chair out for me to sit in. He went to his own and sat down.

"Dig in." He motioned to the food. Gaara was wearing a black turtle neck and blue jeans. The contrast made his skin look paler than normal. I realized he was dressed for colder weather, but it didn't immediately click why.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I asked around a mouthful of bacon.

"I think it would be best if we went back home." I blinked in surprise, my stomache churning. "I know you don't want to go back, for reasons that are understandable, but we've been gone for 5 days. There's only so much time you can stay away. You need to go back to work, to pay your rent and bills. You need to get on with your life." He shook his head.

"But Gaara! I'll see him all the time!"

"No you won't. Its summer, that jerks probably going to stay inside all day." He sighed. "Naruto, I'm giving you until noon." He stood.

"But Gaara! Why do we have to leave so early?!"

"Because we can't stay here forever. I need to go home." He left out the front door.

I didn't feel like eating anymore. I felt queasy and unstable. I dumped all the food, what a waste, and washed the dishes. I didn't want to think about what was coming, but I knew Gaara would leave me here… alone. I knew my answer before noon. I went to go pack what little things I had. I wanted to do the same fore Gaara but he was already done. I put our things in the trunk of the car Itachi had lent us.

To pass what little time we had left here I went to surf. The waves were awesome, as if they were granting me a final farewell. I saw that one chick, she was fawning all over this uber muscly guy. I laughed at their stupidity. A person (guy) I had gotten to know while at the beach paddled up next to me. We clapped hands.

"Was'up dude? Ya look 'pressed." The uber tanned guy tilted his head in concern, his blond locks covered his face and baby blue eyes.

"I'm leaving today."

"Dat sucks!" He frowned. He talked funny but I got used to it real fast. He was on vacation, just like us but longer.

"Yeah. You remember that guy I told you about?" He nodded. "Well… I'm most likely going to see him when I get back."

"Hmm… T'ings are goin' ta be fine. Ya don't need ta worry. Dat frien' of ya's'll keep wachin' over ya." I smiled.

"Yeah." We took to the waves without another word.

(Gaara's POV)

I watched Naruto talk with his friend then begin to surf. I smiled sadly at him, even though he didn't see me. He had packed the car with our stuff, along with washing the dishes. I'd already cleaned the house spotless.

'_I wonder how this will play out?'_ I asked myself, hearing it echo in my empty head. Shukaku was gone, and I was sad about it. In the last few months I'd known him he'd become someone I'd be able to confide in. Now that I thought about it, all those people would be gone by the end of the week. I felt like crying but refused to indulge the urge. Instead I took a shower. 10 minutes in the front door opened. Naruto was here. I finished washing my hair and got out. I re-dressed and walked out. "The showers yours." I froze. He'd brought in two people. One being the bimbo, and the other his friend.

"H-Hey Gaara…. Um… This is Brandon and his sister Crystal. They wanted to say bye before we left." He smiled, dripping wet.

"Alright. Take a quick shower and get dressed, I'll clean up." He smiled and went in the bathroom, grabbing my towel as he went. All 3 of us stood there awkwardly as we heard the shower turn on. I got tired of just standing there. "I'll get you two a towel." I grabbed 3 out of the hallway, handing them each 1 and wiping up the water on the floor with the other. I took them to the kitchen and asked them if they wanted anything.

"Do ya have pop?" Brandon asked. He sounded funny.

"Pop?"

"Coca- cola?" He grinned. I nodded and got him a coke.

"I'll have a margarita." Crystal requested snobbishly. She clearly thought she was in a bachelors pad if she thought I would hand her any type of liquor.

"Are you old enough to drink?"

"Yes!"

"Can I see your license?" She blushed, glaring at the ground. Her brother just laughed.

"Excuse her. She don't kno' how ta control herself."

"I see. Answer me this… How are you two siblings? You don't sound a thing0000000000000000000000000 alike." He laughed again.

"Her muddar is diffren' dan mine. She is younger and lives here. My muddar lives across da world."

"Makes sense."

"How old are you?"

"21, my sister is 16."

"She doesn't act like a 16 year old should."

"She is childish, ya. Goes aftar guys to old for her." He shook his head. All this time Crystal had been growing increasingly angry.

"Stop talking as if I'm not here!" She yelled after I'd told her brother of our earlier meeting. Her face was red and her breathing was ragged.

"We're not stopping you from entering the conversation are we?" I raised a non-existent eyebrow. Brandon crossed his arms over his chest, an unpleasant frown gracing his features.

"But you're talking about me!" She glared.

"I'm also talking about me. Don't be so conceited." Brandon gave me a sharp look, not being protective of her just warning me about her.

"I'm not being conceited!" She yelled.

"Calm down Crystal." He motioned with his hands.

"You're the one who's being a jerk! Just the other day you called me a bimbo!" She expected her brother to come to her aid, but he did nothing.

"I've been nothing but a gracious host. Bimbos not the worst of things that I call you in my head." I rolled my eyes.

"You act like you're so smart! I bet that's a bluff! I bet you can't even think of one!"

"Idiot, bitch, conceited, bimbo, skank, hooker, jailbait, trouble maker, Caucasian prostitute, bug on the bottom of my shoe, whore, cunt, and the list goes on." I shrugged. She growled.

"What have I done to deserve all those names?"

"Oh, I don't know… hit on me, I reject you, you call me a freak, you hit on me still, you insult me, you hit on my best friend, call me a creepy freak, think I'm only talking about you… so yeah, you deserve it." I smiled. She yelled an obsinaity and jumped at me. Her brother held her back.

"Crystal!" He yelled at her.

"It's okay." I grinned at her tauntingly. "Let's see her try." Brandon released her. She ran at me, trying to get at my throat. I dodged and grabbed her by her hair, turning her to face me. I slapped her, not nearly as hard as I could have, and released her. Her eyes were already tearing up. "Listen to me. You have to learn that you can't get everything you want just because you're pretty." I knocked her on the head, "this is what matters. You can't just go around and think your all high and mighty, expecting everything to come to you. Life doesn't work that way."

"Don't tell me what to do!" She shoved me and ran out the front door. Brandon just stared.

"Ya've got guts, man. Not many men 'ould hit a girl." He shrugged. "I'm one of dem. I say she had it coming dough. She needs ta quit her wild ways." He laughed. I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled down my email and Narutos. I sealed it in a plastic bag before giving it to him.

_**Pandaman101 (at) gmail . com**__** / **__**Foxboy101 (at) gmail . com**_

"Those are our emails. Send us one." I smiled. He grinned and stuffed it in his picket. "Do you want anything else or do you want to watch me get him some clothes?"

"Watch wat ya doin'." He shrugged. I walked outside and rummaged through some of Narutos stuff. I picked out his blue jeans and orange shirt. He could wear his sandals. We went back inside to find Naruto poking his head out. He smiled at the bundle of cloth in my hands.

"You know me so well!" He grinned. I threw the clothes at him and disappeared again. Brandon and I only talked for a little bit before Naruto came back out. He smiled at our easy conversation.

"So, Gaara, you ready to go?"

"Yeah. I'm driving by the way." I held up the keys.

"Aw! You suck!" He tried to swipe them but I held them tightly in my fist. Brandon laughed. "Bye Brandon!" Naruto hugged him, we just shook hands. Before we parted ways completely I heard him whisper:

"Dey bicker like an' old married couple."

Yeah, if only things were really like that.

(Narutos POV)

The car was fast, and it was brilliant. Of course it was, its Itachi's car. Yeah I'd ridden in it once before but I was to out of it to really explore. How I wished I could drive it. Gaara looked cool driving it too. He was made to drive a fast car. I sighed. He glanced at me.

"Something wrong?"

"No, just going to miss Brandon, is all. I wish I could have given him my number."

"Don't worry. I gave him our emails. The ones we made to fit together. You'll hear from him soon, I hope." I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Your quick thinking."

"I just know you, I guess." He smiled. He slowed down as we turned right into Mc Donald's. My stomache growled its approval. He let me chose first before ordering his and paying. We sat quietly for a while. Something popped into my head just then.

"Gaara, what was that commotion was in the shower? I heard shouting."

"You know his sister, Crystal? Well she was being a bitch so I told her she was and she attacked me. A-"

"She attacked you?! I hope you didn't hurt her too badly." I couldn't believe the chick was dumb enough to do that!

"No, just slapped her. I should have beaten the hell out of her, but I didn't. I can restrain myself."

"Only recently." He smacked my arm. "See what I mean? Honestly, you've got to control your anger better." He laughed.

"Quiet fool, don't make me beat you in front of all these people." I laughed with him. We finished up our food and continued on our way. I was nervous again, my stomache getting queasy again. As if he could read my mind, and I was beginning to think he could, he reached over and grabbed my hand. "It's going to be alright. If he's at your apartment then we'll go over to Shikimarus or Haku's okay?" I smiled sadly at Gaara.

"You mean we're not going to Itachis?" He shook his head.

"My original plan was to drop you off at your apartment then go find Itachi and have him drop me off at yours as well. This way we're less likely to run into him. But if that does end up happening I will take you over to whosever's house you want me to. Whoever you prefer." Gaara shrugged.

"I guess Haku… Haven't really spoken to him in a while."

As it turned out He wasn't there so we were free to enter my apartment. Gaara quickly left so as to return the car and come back quickly. I made myself at home again, settling down with some Ramen. A knock came to the door. That was fast.

"Come in!" I heard the door open and slam shut. "That was fast Gaara! Did-" I turned to face him as I talked. I cut myself off when I noticed it wasn't Gaara standing there but… Sasuke. I grimaced and stood up, spilling my Ramen. He reached for me but I yanked myself out of reach.

"Naruto-"

"I don't want to hear it."

"But-"

"I said I don't want to hear it!" I glared. Sasuke looked pitiful for someone who hurt his 'boyfriend'. He had bags under his eyes as if he's the one who'd had horrible sleep. My blood boiled. "You know I don't want to see you! Go away!"

"I have to explain myself!" He pleaded.

"I don't want to hear your excuses! You don't love me, you don't care about me! You cheated on me!"

"But I do care about you!"

"That's a load of horse shit! If you'd've cared you would have rejected me instead of being with me and leading me on. If you'd've cared then you wouldn't have cheated on me with my best friend's brother!" I cried.

"It's not easy rejecting the guy you tortured and humiliated! I felt bad! I had to make it up some how!" He took a step forward, me a step back.

"So you lied! Who else have you slept with, huh?! Sakura and Ino? They're a couple but they still fancy you plenty! Or how about Neji and Lee?! For all I know you could be doing the entire class, except Gaara! Maybe even the teachers!" I yelled.

"Naruto." He pleaded again.

"No." I shook my head.

"Naruto!" He stepped toward me again.

"NO!" I yelled, putting my hands to the side of my head. He lurched for me but I slipped under his arms and bolted for the door. Before I could reach it he grabbed my collar and yanked me back. I went flying into a table, knocking it over and breaking it. He climbed on top of me. My head began to pound. I felt groggy and everything was fuzzy. He rolled me onto my back, pinning me to the ground. I struggled weakly. I couldn't find the energy.

"Listen to me Naruto," he made me face him. "I care about you as a friend. I feel terrible for what I did. I'm sorry. **I'M** sorry, alright?! I didn't want to hurt you, not again. I regret my decisions. They were wrong. But they're done now-" Suddenly he was yanked off me.

There was a loud bang as Gaara threw him into the wall.

"I suggest you leave Uchiha. I don't think you want a repeat of last time." Gaara threatened, obviously wishing he could do more. Sasuke scurried out the door. Gaara knelt beside me.

"You're bleeding."

"No wonder I felt so light headed." I grinned. He only smiled and tore apart some of his shirt. He pressed it to my head.

"It's not deep. Head wounds just bleed more than others." He pressed harder to stop the blood flow.

"Can you stay the night?"

"Of course." There was no hesitation in his answer.

**End Chapter**

_**Authors note: Because I'm weird I have decided to make an actual email address for The Adventures of Panda Man and Fox Boy. Because I'm sure you all would like a chance to talk to the main characters. The address is :**_

_**pandamanandfoxboy (at) yahoo . com**_

_**The simple rules follow: Don't send stupid mail, like chain mail. It will most likely be deleted. Don't send pictures, not interested. You can say anything you want, but you have to tell who you're directing it to in the subject. And write it like you would a letter. I'm not saying you have to, but please use correct spelling and grammar, it helps to understand what you're trying to say.**_

_**I'm sad to say this but we're nearing the end of this wonderful adventure. Thanks for all of you staying with me this long! LOVE!**_


	16. Good Bye

Chapter 16: Good Bye

(Gaara's POV)

I solemnly wrote the letter that would tell Naruto my good bye. I should probably do it face to face, but this was the only sure way my resolve would stand firm. I sighed as I poured my heart out onto the paper, as I usually did when I wrote poetry or emotional writing… Like how I'm doing in this journal.

"Gaara!" Naruto called from in the Kitchen. "Dinners ready!"

"Okay!" I called back. I frowned down at the paper. "Be out in a minute." I quickly finished what I was trying to say and folded the paper so it would fit into the envelope and sealed it. I put it under the sink and walked out of the bathroom.

Naruto had made chicken noodle soup with grilled cheese. I would have preferred spaghetti as our last meal together but it was just as good as long as I was with him. He told me a bunch of jokes, some of which I actually laughed to, and in turn I would tell him scary stories. We didn't go to bed until midnight.

I made sure to set my phone alarm for 6 in the morning and on vibrate so it didn't wake Naruto up. I didn't relish the thought of leaving, but in the end it was necessary. I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until I felt my shoulder start to shake violently. I got up quickly and gathered what little things I had here. I left the door open so I wouldn't have to repeatedly open it. He didn't even stir.

I got the letter out from under the sink and stared at it for a bit. I felt a pang of regret in my chest. I felt like crying, but I refused to let the tears fall. I quietly entered Narutos bedroom for the last time and set the letter by his clock. His name was scribbled large and in purple ink, sure to catch his attention. I gazed down at him softly. I bent down and brushed his lips with mine, the only chance I would get to do this. I touched his cheek tenderly, enjoying the feel of his skin under mine.

"I love you Naruto," I whispered and disappeared out the door and into the car awaiting me downstairs.

(Naruto's POV)

I don't know why I did it but I did. I guess it was just some subconscious thing that just sort of knew what was going on. I don't know, but it was a good thing. My alarm blared into my ear, loud and shrill. I was pretty sure my neighbors could hear it. Strangely enough I could hear a car drive away at that moment, and it made me sad.

"What time is it?" I groaned. I glanced at my clock. 7:59 am. What the hell was I thinking waking up this early?!

Some foreign object caught my attention at the same moment this thought went through my head. It was my name scribbled in purple on an envelope. A note from Gaara? Was he going shopping? This early? I shrugged and picked up the envelope, taking it with me to the kitchen. I fixed myself some Ramen, Gaara wasn't here to get on to me about not eating right, and sat down to read it. My eyes widened at how long it was for a simple note.

_Dear Naruto,_

_I think this is the best way to tell you this, any other way would have ended in disaster and I wouldn't be able to tell you the things that I wanted to. I am leaving your apartment at 7 am to catch a plane to America, which will be leaving at 9. I'm going to be leaving with my step family; I guess I'm going to become a doctor. I don't want to see another person suffer like Yuuiko did. I know this is all rather blunt, but I prefer not to lie to you. There are many things I wish to tell you, I could write a book on how many things I want to tell you, but I don't have a lot of time right now. And I don't think this is the best time for that. But I'll do my best to get my feelings across at least._

_When I first met you I hated you with all my being, though I felt a connection with you that I couldn't explain. I hated you for all the good things in your life, your happiness and smiles. But all that changed when I began to feel further connected to you, it went beyond what a stranger feels for another, it went deeper. You knew me, even though no one ever has. You easily broke through the wall I had built up for myself to keep others out._

_I found myself beginning to care about you more deeply than I had anyone in my entire life. I wanted to protect you from anything and everything, and keep you for myself. You my first friend ever, are my best friend. When you'd gotten into trouble with that gang I was so afraid I'd loose you. So afraid you'd disappear from my life without so much as a good bye, and I'd be alone again. Sasuke wanted to leave and call the police but I made him go with me to follow after you. When you were taken to the ambulance I was praying to whoever and whatever Gods and Goddesses were out there and listening, I just wanted you safe. That's when I first began to realize something, that moment was the point of no return. What was done was done, the pieces were set in motion and nothing could stop it._

_It made me so jealous when Sasuke turned out to be your only one. The one you had had your eyes on, your thoughts on, your lips on. He had your complete attention. And the funny thing is you probably would have felt that way about me instead if I'd been the first one you saw when you woke up. My heart was shattered into a thousand pieces when you confessed to him, surprising you didn't hear it, and he returned the affection, though falsely. I was awake to hear those words. I wasn't listening on purpose, but I hear them just the same._

_You remember when I promised that I wouldn't leave until I had to? Well this is the moment where I have to. I have taken all I can, but I still don't want to be away from you. I'm scared that you'll reject me for being the way I am. But I'm just me. I need to leave, to have some time with myself and get on with my life. Sounds harsh but it's the truest thing I have to say. I need to worry about me, selfish I know, but everyone has those moments. I'm sorry. There was one thing Sasuke was right about one thing, sometimes you have to deal with your problems on your own. This is one of those moments._

_I have to cut this short. You're calling me to dinner and I want to spend as much time with you as I can before I go. My plane is at __**SSXX**__ Airport, terminal 7. If you've woken up in time I would really like it if you'd come and say good bye. That is if you want to of course. If not then, Good Bye Naruto. Until we meet again, and all that jazz._

_Oh, and one more thing,_

_I love you, with all my heart._

_Gaara No Sakuya_

My heart began to ache, a horrible earth shattering ache. It was worse than when I figured Sasuke was cheating on me. It was the most painful experience of my life. Not just because Gaara was leaving, but because all the puzzle pieces finally fit into place. All that sadness and anger that I felt radiating off of him. The sudden happiness that over took him. It all made sense now…

How could I be so STUPID to hurt him like that?! It was so obvious now that it was brought into the light! Another sudden realization. His plane took off in less than an hour! I frantically tried to find my phone and shoes. While I ran I dialed Haku's, telling him the direction that I was running and I needed to be picked up fast. Then I proceeded to cal Gaara, over and over again. He never answered. In fact it went straight to voicemail.

A car rounded the bend, fast. Zabuza was at the wheel. He was laughing like a mad man.

The car skidded to a halt and I jumped in. Zabuza didn't look at me once, just continued to laugh. To tell the truth it was rather creepy. We arrived and he pulled up to the front, finally he stared at me.

"Go get'em. I'll wait for you right here." He then turned on his radio and blasted Ramstein from his speakers. I glanced at the clock. 8:40. Only 20 minutes until they boarded! I raced into the building and snuck past the security guards taking tickets into the terminals. As soon as I was passed him I broke into a sprint, looking for Terminal 7. I found it and began to search the crowed for my favorite red head. My search was in vain. I couldn't find him anywhere.

I began to call his name.

"Gaara!" I yelled. Many people stared at me as if I were a crazy person. Well whatever, let them think whatever they wanted. I yelled is name again.

I spotted some red hair ahead of me.

"Gaara!" I screamed. He never turned around. I grabbed his shoulder, though he seemed taller than I remember, and spun him around. He wasn't Gaara, but his step father. "Where's Gaara?!" I yelled at him. He smiled sadly at me, I felt like a 5 year old. He pointed behind me and I turned.

Gaara stood there with the most blissful expression I'd ever seen cross his features. I ran and jumped on him. I hugged him to me, hard.

"Don't leave, Gaara! Don't leave me alone!" I pleaded, pulling away, but not letting him out of arms reach. He just shook his head. "I know it's selfish, but I don't want to be alone!"

"You're not alone. You have everyone who has come to care about you."

"Everyone but you." My words caused shock to cross his features.

"I have to go, Naruto. I need this."

"Can't you do it here?!"

"No. My opportunities in America. But don't worry; you'll see me again someday." He touched my cheek, caressing it with his fingers. The contact sent shivers down my spine.

"But I want to see you everyday." I glared. "What about your promise not to leave me?"

"I said I wouldn't unless I have to, I even mentioned it in my letter. I have to go. I'm sorry Naruto."

"But-! No! Is Shukaku making you do this?" Shock once again crossed his features, then sadness. He shook his head.

"No, Shukaku's gone. He's off to find someone else." He sighed.

_**//5 MINUTES UNTIL TERMINAL 7: FLIGHT TO AMERICA: TAKES OFF// **_A lady informed us all over the loud speaker.

I was only going to get 5 more minutes with him?! That's not right! My heart began to pick up pace, my breathing speeding up. I began to hyperventilate.

"Naruto, calm down." He ordered, placing a hand on my shoulder. I grabbed the arm desperately. "Naruto…" He embraced me. This one was different than the ones he'd given me before. This one told me just how much he loved me. "I _will _see you again, I promise." He squeezed me as hard as he could. I felt a lump form in my throat, and tears well up in my eyes. He tilted my head back, I knew what he was going to do and I didn't even try to stop him. I closed my eyes.

He pressed our lips together. His were so soft, so warm. He was gentle, then gradually increasing the pressure, making it deeper. I responded by wrapping my arms around him, trying to get us as close as we could. He begged for entrance into my mouth with his tongue. It began to get hot. I let him in. He caressed them inside of my mouth, exploring every crevice. The kiss seemed to last for an eternity. Then we ran out of oxygen and had to break apart, the heat cooling slightly. He gasped for breath.

A feeling rose up inside me, demanding to be voiced, but I couldn't find it.

The lady informed us that they should start to board. He sighed and let me go, regretting the action.

"I love you Naruto, never forget that… And thank you…" He pecked me on the lips one last time and turned his back on me.

I wanted to chase after him and demand he stay, but I knew why he really needed to go. He needed a purpose in life to be able to be truly happy.

The feeling demanded itself again, more urgent now that he was getting closer to the plane with each step. But how could I be sure if it was real? I wasn't finished getting over Sasuke yet.

"Gaara!" I heard myself scream. Startled he turned around to stare at me. "I love you too!" I yelled, some part of me had taken over, determination in my tone. The blissful smile returned to his face, a shade brighter, and immediately I knew that the words my subconscious shouted out were true.

"Good bye Fox Boy!" He called with a wave. He disappeared down the tunnel that led to the plane.

"Until we meet again Panda Man." I whispered. I followed his plane until it was out of site.

(Gaara's POV)

The airport disappeared from view as we went further up into the sky. My father sat next to me in first class, his wife beside him. I was sad but happy at the same time. I knew he wasn't sure about his words, but Naruto loved me as much as he could right now. I touched my lips, the kiss coming back to me. I settled back, getting comfortable for the long flight.

I would see Naruto again; there was no doubt about that.

**End Chapter**


	17. Epilouge

Epilogue: 10 Years Later

(Naruto)

Naruto set his car keys on the counter as he entered through the kitchen. He took his jacket off and loosened his tie. He had a few minutes of peace and quiet, and he wanted to enjoy them thourghly.

It was just turning 7 when he began to cook dinner. When the other two got home they would surely be tired. Tonights dinner was spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, salad, and crunchy shrimp. A strange combination, but still good.

Just as Naruto was setting the table the front door burst open. "Daddy! Daddy!" Yuuiko called from the living room.

"In here! You're just in time to eat!" Naruto smiled at his daughter as she came bounding into the dining room. "Daddy! Daddy said you would read the story to me again!" She grinned. Naruto groaned at the mention at the old worn out story.

"You'll never get tired of hearing it will you?" She shook her pretty little red head.

"Nope! I love it!"

"When you go to bed, then." She squealed in happiness and hugged her fathers leg. He patted her head and scooted her to her chair. Gaara was leaning in the door way, watching the transaction with a content smile.

"Honey I'm home," he greeted. Naruto glanced up at his husband.

"About damn time," Naruto smiled. Gaara pecked him on the cheek, Yuuiko giggled. She loved any kind of affection her two fathers showed each other. "Let's eat."

The dinner was wonderful and filling.

Yuuiko happily went through her simple routine of getting ready for bed. She climbed into her bed and stared up at Naruto in expectation. He tucked her in and grabbed a book that had no title and looked as if it had been through a tornado and hell.

"Now where should I begin?"

"The beginning!" She grinned, her sky blue eyes sparkling with the purest love a child can hold for her father.

"Alright… The Adventures of Panda Man and Fox Boy…"

(Gaara)

Gaara watched his 5 year old daughter and his husband interact with one another. He was now reading her the story of how they ended up together. Really it was just a journal compiled of entries from both their personal journals, letters, and e-mails. Pictures were pasted in there from time to time.

Yuuiko was named after Gaaras adopted sister, the one that had died. She resembled both her fathers in many ways. She had tan skin and blue eyes, a sunny disposition and loyalty, all of which came from Naruto. Her red hair and non-existent eyebrows, her quick anger at the hurt of a loved one and her super strength came from her other father Gaara. She was intelligent for her age. Biologically she was both of theirs, along with Gaara's American friend Sarah. She'd graciously agreed to have their baby and have no parental right.

Naruto stepped out of the room, Yuuiko having fallen asleep about halfway through. Gaara chuckled.

"She stayed up longer than usual." He grinned. Naruto motioned for him to shush and go toward their room. "She sleeps like a rock, she won't hear me even if I yell at the top of my lungs."

"I don't care, be quiet." Naruto shut the door and practically dragged Gaara toward their room. Once there, and the door was shut, Naruto shoved Gaara against the door and proceeded to kiss the hell out of him. When they separated for hair Gaara smirked.

"So this was your intention. Alright, I'll oblige you." Gaara flipped their positions and immediately began to attack Narutos neck with his lips. He nipped and licked the sensitive part of the base of his neck. Naruto gasped and a small noise escaped his lips. Gaara smirked again as he felt Narutos arousal.

He pulled up Narutos shirt out of his pants and, still biting and licking, unbuttoned it. He moved down to suck on a nipple. Naruto gasped louder, and grabbed Gaaras head, twining his fingers in his hair. Gaara showed his hand away and threw him on the bed. He climbed on top of Naruto and pinned his arms above with one hand and slowly moved his other hand down to Narutos pants.

He squirmed and gasped at the teasing, trying to keep himself quiet but failing miserably.

Gaara never went into his pants but decided to massage them instead. Naruto held back a groan.

"G-Gaara!" Naruto pleaded. Gaara shook his head. Still pinning Naruto to the bed he parted Narutos legs and put his left leg between them. He rubbed and created friction, Naruto groaned.

Using his other hand Gaara played with the nipple he'd teased earlier. Naruto arched his back at the combined pleasure and gasped out Gaara's name again. Gaara bend down and kissed those lips. He easily slipped his tongue into Narutos mouth. He pulled away.

"Do you love me Naruto?" He felt like an idiot needing reassurances, but Naruto was too distracted to answer. Gaara stopped his attentions and locked eyes with Naruto, his one and only love. "Do you love me Naruto?" He repeated, letting go of Narutos wrists.

Naruto sat up, propping himself up on an elbow, and caressed Gaaras cheek with the palm of his hand. Gaara closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. "Of course I love you. Your my one and only. My everything." Naruto answered with all his heart. Gaara smiled and opened his eyes, grapping hold of the hand pressed to his cheek. Naruto sat up to kiss his beloved. "I'll love you when I die, and I'll continue to love you after my body rots and my soul goes to hell."

"Your not going to hell," Gaara scoffed. Naruto only smiled and flipped them over, so he was on top. He pinned Gaara under him much the same way Gaara had done to him earlier.

"Now, where were we?" He smirked.

**End Epilogue **


	18. Letters and emails

**Letters and E-Mails**

**TO: Pandaman101 (at) gmail . com**

**FROM: Foxboy101 (at) gmail . com**

**SUBJECT: How are you?**

**Gaara! How are you doing? Have you made it to America okay? I'm doing okay; I've been promoted to Assistant Manager at Ichuraku! Isn't that amazing?! I wonder what I'll do when the old man retires. Anyway! Email back. Give me your damn number! Your cell doesn't work in America!**

**Naruto**

**//////////**

**TO: Foxboy101 (at) gmail . com**

**FROM: Pandaman101 (at) gmail . com**

**SUBJECT: RE. How are you?**

**I'm fine, there's nothing wrong. I've made it here alright and have begun my studies to become a doctor. When he retires you could always ask for the business and continue it, make it into a more profitable business. Congratulations by the way, on becoming Assistant Manager. My current number is 1-512-398-2426. Have fun.**

**Much Love**

**Gaara**

**//////////**

_**Dear Naruto,**_

_**Sorry I haven't mailed you in awhile. Toji had me really busy so I was exhausted. Congratulations on graduating Collage. You'll do great! Have you managed to extend Ichuraku to another city? Or another part of town?**_

_**There's so much change in our lives. Have you grown taller? Just kidding. I just don't know what to write about. I'm just so excited; I'm finally going to get to see you!**_

_**I still cant believe its been 4 years since I've seen you. I still love you as much as I did before. My love will never change.**_

_**I'm also surprised to hear that you've forgiven Sasuke after so long. He must have been groveling like a dog for you to forgive him. But that's just you I guess. I'm still angry at my brother, he should have known better, but I can understand the need to be with the one you love.**_

_**Don't forget I'm coming down to see you.**_

_**Yours in Eternity**_

_**Gaara**_

_**//////////**_

_**Dearest Gaara,**_

_**Yes I have gotten more Ichuraku up. There are currently 3 up here and 1 in Suna. The restaurants are a big hit with the people, so more is in demand. I'm surprised its all going up so quickly. The old man would be proud if he were still alive.**_

_**Hey Gaara! I've just had a cool thought! Let's get married and have a kid! I want it to be a girl! Do you know anyone…? Know what? I'll just discuss this with you when you get here. Saves time, ink, and paper. I look forward to meeting this Sarah girl you're bringing along. And yes, I did just propose to you over a letter.**_

_**I love you too,**_

_**Naruto**_

**END/ FIN/ ITS OVER/ FINISHED/ BYE, BYE/ SEE YOU LATER**


End file.
